§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether devolution of central government functions in Northern Ireland to elected representatives or institutions can be achieved by secondary legislation, or whether it requires primary legislation. [HL5240]
§ Baroness AmosThe restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland as it operated until October last year would be achieved by an order under Section 2(2) of the Northern Ireland Act 2000, subject to the affirmative procedure. The legislative mechanism used for any future devolution of central government functions in Northern Ireland would depend in part on the nature of the functions in question.