DUP MLA Jim Wells suggests new powers could allow 'Sinn Féin minister' move university departments from Coleraine to Derry

South Down DUP MLA Jim Wells made the claim in Stormont on Monday in support of a failed attempt by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to amend the bill to allow it to be further scrutinised by MLAs.

A minority of MLAs said they feared passage of the bill would give ministers too much power.

They particularly objected to a section of the bill that said ministers would not have to have recourse to the Executive "in relation to any matter unless that matter affects the exercise of the statutory responsibilities of one or more other Ministers more than incidentally".

Mr. Wells claimed that this could dilute the collective responsibility of the Executive and give ministers too much power.

"Let us give another example: a proposal to move university departments from Coleraine to Magee. That would cause huge concern to the community in Coleraine.

"A Sinn Féin Minister, should he happen to hold the portfolio, could do that. My interpretation of the legislation is that there is nothing that can be done, if the Bill goes through, to stop that, because it clearly is within his or her power and does not meet the criteria to be stopped under the legislation," said Mr. Wells, who sided against his own party in the debate.

Mervyn Storey, the DUP MLA for North Antrim, dismissed this suggestion.

"The powers in relation to the governance and courses in a university do not rest with any Minister; they rest with the university. The Member needs to be aware of what the powers are, because, if that were the case, I would be knocking on the door of the Economy Minister in relation to certain courses that have disappeared. The responsibility rests with the university, not with the Minister," he said.

But Mr. Wells insisted: "The honourable Member is very long-standing, and I have known him for about 50 years. The honourable Member misses my point. You could have a situation where Magee campus is very pleased to have courses transferred from Coleraine, and you could have a compliant Minister who would allocate the appropriate funding.

"There could be huge concern in the East Londonderry and North Antrim constituencies about that, and my reading of the legislation before us is that it could not be stopped. It is a totally hypothetical example."

Both Mr. Wells and the UUP MLA for Upper Bann Doug Beattie cited the example of the late Martin McGuinness moving to abolish the 11 plus when he was Minister for Education in the early 2000s.

Mr. Beattie said: "It has been well documented that the late Martin McGuinness got rid of the 11-plus, pretty much on the last day before the Assembly collapsed: that could be viewed as going on a solo run. This part of the St. Andrews Agreement brokered by the DUP and Sinn Féin was a good piece of legislation, and we are looking for it to stay."

And Mr. Wells said: "What we know is that, when the late Martin McGuinness was about to leave his post as Education Minister, he unilaterally abolished the 11-plus, and the reason why we adopted St Andrews was to make it absolutely certain that that did not happen again. People might say, 'But it hasn't happened since'.

"Well, it has not happened because, although there are many obnoxious proposals emanating from the Members to my right that, if they had half a chance, they would implement, but they do not bother because they know that, under the present arrangements, it is not worth their while and they will be blocked. Anything that weakens that worries me intensely."

But DUP MLA Christopher Stalford responded to these criticisms by stating: "Reference was made by Mr. Beattie to the previous solo runs by Ministers before St. Andrews, particularly the decision of the then Education Minister, the late Mr Martin McGuinness, in relation to the transfer test, widely known as the 11-plus.

"Let me be very clear: under St. Andrews and under this Bill, such a decision could not be made by a Minister on a solo run. It is simply not true to say that it could. We pushed hard to have this issue addressed at St Andrews, and we will fully maintain the protections that prevent Ministers from doing such things without the agreement of Executive colleagues.

"Any suggestion that the Bill would diminish that is a fundamental misunderstanding of the Bill that we are considering. It is inaccurate of those who have attempted to suggest otherwise."

The attempts to amend the bill did not succeed and it is likely to be passed by MLAs in the Assembly on Tuesday.