Following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 14 October, former Secretary of State Dr John Reid MP, assisted by his team of Northern Ireland Office (NIO) ministers, assumed responsibility for the direction and control of the 11 Northern Ireland government departments. On 25 October, Reid was replaced by former Secretary of State for Wales Paul Murphy MP.
Suspension inevitably means that access to our decision makers becomes more difficult. There are now five ministers where there were previously 14. However, the work of government in Northern Ireland continues. NIO ministers are acutely aware of their own limited mandate and the 108 members of the legislative assembly (MLA) continue, therefore, to provide useful leverage for those seeking to influence the decision-making process.
