29Composition of committees
(1)The provision included in the standing orders in compliance with section 28(3) must meet the requirements of this section.
(2)The provision must secure that the appointments to the places on each committee are (if possible) determined by a resolution of the Assembly—
(a)which secures that its membership reflects (so far as is reasonably practicable) the balance of the political groups to which Assembly members belong, and
(b)which (if the motion for it is passed on a vote) has no effect unless at least two-thirds of the Assembly members voting support it.
(3)The provision must secure that, if the membership of a committee is not so determined—
(a)the person appointed to the first place on the committee is an Assembly member belonging to the largest political group, and
(b)the persons eligible to be appointed to the second and subsequent places on the committee are ascertained in accordance with subsection (5).
(4)“The largest political group” means the political group to which the most Assembly members belong.
(5)An Assembly member is eligible to be appointed to the second or any subsequent place on the committee if—
(a)the number produced by subsection (6) in relation to that place for the political group to which the Assembly member belongs, exceeds
(b)that so produced for each of the other political groups.
(6)The number produced for a political group in relation to the second or any subsequent place on the committee is—
(a)if one or more places are already allocated to the political group, the number of Assembly members belonging to the political group divided by the aggregate of one and the number of places already so allocated, or
(b)otherwise, the number of Assembly members belonging to the political group.
(7)References to a place already allocated to a political group, in relation to the appointment to the second or any subsequent place on the committee, are to a place on the committee to which an Assembly member belonging to the political group is eligible to be appointed—
(a)(in relation to the second place) by virtue of subsection (3)(a), or
(b)(in relation to any subsequent place) by virtue of subsection (3)(a) or the previous application of subsection (5) in relation to a place on the committee.
(8)The provision must modify the operation of the provision made in compliance with subsections (3) to (7) for cases where—
(a)the number of Assembly members belonging to two or more political groups is the same and exceeds the number of Assembly members belonging to any other political group, or
(b)the number produced by subsection (6) in relation to any place on a committee is the same for two or more political groups and is greater than that so produced for any other political group.
(9)The provision must modify the operation of the provision made in compliance with subsections (2) to (8) with a view to securing that (so far as is reasonably practicable having regard to the total number of places on committees)—
(a)every Assembly member who does not belong to a political group is entitled to be a member of at least one committee, and
(b)the total number of places on committees allocated to Assembly members belonging to each political group is at least as great as the number of Assembly members belonging to the political group.
(10)The provision must secure that the Presiding Officer decides questions arising under the provision made in compliance with this section.