Mr. Paul Maskey:

I thank the Chairman and I thank Mr. McCallister for coming before the committee today. I refer to some of the figures and how Mr. McCallister came up with some of the percentages. The Bill refers to the introduction of a threshold. It stipulates that political parties must gain 16.6%, which is 18 out of 108 MLAs. How was that figure arrived at? In the fresh start document it is proposed to reduce the number of MLAs to five, rather than six, per constituency. What does that mean for the Bill?

I am glad the Bill has reached Second Stage. There will be time to work through it and take evidence. I chaired the Public Accounts Committee for about five years and we scrutinised all Departments, including those with which my party colleagues were involved. Not once did we get any criticism about taking a fair and equitable approach with regard to the public accounts and scrutiny of all Departments. Over the years the Public Accounts Committee has allowed political parties to work together and leave their political baggage at the door of the committee room. That is a good thing because of the circumstances of our past. There was a certain level of mistrust, but the Public Accounts Committee has allowed trust to build up over the years. I ask Mr. McCallister for his thoughts on my comments.