The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Rt. Hon Julian Smith MP today announced that he has extended the appointments of Anne Henderson, Sarah Havlin, Paul Hutchinson, Colin Kennedy and Geraldine McGahey.
The terms will be extended from 1 January 2020 for a limited period of 12 months. This will provide resilience and continuity to the membership of the Parades Commission.
A competition to recruit a new chair and four members will launch in autumn 2020.
Notes
The Parades Commission was established in 1997 and took on its full powers in 1998 through the Public Processions (NI) Act 1998. The Commission has 2 fundamental responsibilities:
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To facilitate mediation between parties on disputes concerning proposed parades and take appropriate steps to resolve them
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To issue determinations in respect of specific proposed parades
Under the terms of the Act, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is responsible for making appointments to the Parades Commission. The appointments are made in accordance with paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 of the Act.
