Committees

Much of the detailed work of the Network Assembly of the Velocity Interoperability Network is done in committee. The Assembly established five standing committees at its inaugural sitting on 6 September 2026, on the recommendation of the Preparatory Convention. Every measure introduced in the Assembly stands referred to a committee after its first reading, and committees also examine the conduct, spending and standards of departments and network services within their remits.

Committees take evidence in public and deliberate in private. Their reports are published on this site and debated in the Assembly at the second reading of the measure concerned. Any member of the Assembly may attend a committee of which they are not a member and speak with the chair's permission, but may not vote.

The five standing committees. The remit of each committee is fixed by the resolution establishing it and may be varied only by the Assembly.

Procedure and Privileges Committee

Keeps the Standing Orders under review, considers questions of privilege and the conduct of delegates, and advises the Presiding Officer on the interpretation of the rules. Seven members. First measure referred: the Official Record Measure.

Legislation Scrutiny Committee

Examines every measure not within the remit of another committee, reporting on its drafting, its consistency with measures already in force and the powers it confers. Nine members. First measure referred: the Citizens' Representation Measure.

Standards and Interoperability Committee

Examines proposals to adopt technical and data standards as binding Network standards, and reviews the performance of network services against them. Nine members. First measure referred: the Interoperability Standards (Adoption) Measure.

Finance and Appropriation Committee

Examines appropriation measures and the estimates of departments and network services, and considers the reports of the Audit Office. Nine members. First measure referred: the Network Appropriation (Transitional) Measure.

Petitions Committee

Considers every petition presented to the Assembly, takes evidence from petitioners and the department concerned, and reports within two sitting weeks with a recommendation. Seven members.

Membership. Members are nominated by the member constituencies in proportion to their seats, so that no constituency holds more than one seat on a committee of seven or two on a committee of nine. Each committee elects its chair at its first meeting. The table below shows the size of each committee and the officials who serve it.

Measures before committees. Four measures stand referred to committees following the inaugural sitting. Each committee is to report by Sunday 4 October 2026 so that second readings may be taken in the sitting week beginning 13 October. First meetings are held in the sitting week beginning 15 September and are open to the public.

Submitting evidence. Anyone may submit written evidence to a committee on a measure before it, whether as a member organisation, a department, a citizen or a member of staff. The steps are as follows.

1. 1

   Step 1: Check the closing date

   Each committee sets a closing date for written evidence on a measure, shown in the schedule above. Evidence received after the closing date is circulated to members but may not be reflected in the report.

2. 2

   Step 2: Prepare your submission

   Write in plain language, not more than 2,000 words, saying who you are, which measure or clause you are addressing and what change, if any, you propose. Numbered paragraphs help the committee to cite your evidence.

3. 3

   Step 3: Send it to the Office of the Clerk

   Email your submission with the name of the committee and the number of the measure in the subject line. Receipt is acknowledged within two working days.

4. 4

   Step 4: Publication

   Written evidence is published with the committee's report unless you ask for it to be withheld and the committee agrees. Personal contact details are removed before publication.

5. 5

   Step 5: Oral evidence

   The committee may invite you to answer questions at a public evidence session. Invitations are sent by email at least five working days in advance, and a transcript of the session is published in the Official Record.

Evidence and enquiries about committees may be sent to contact@assembly.gov.vin. For the stages a measure passes through after committee, see Legislation; for the rules governing committees, see Chapter 7 of the Standing Orders; for attending a committee meeting, see Attending Sittings.