50-622: Southern Electric plc was a public limited energy company in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998, when it merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc to form Scottish and Southern Energy plc (now SSE plc ). The company had its origins in the southern England region of the British nationalised electricity industry . Created in 1948 as the Southern Electricity Board , in 1990 it was privatised by being floated on
100-569: A majority of legislators, ministerial positions in the Northern Ireland Executive are allocated to parties with significant representation in the Assembly. With the exception of justice, the number of ministries to which each party is entitled is determined by the D'Hondt system . In effect, major parties cannot be excluded from participation in government and power-sharing is enforced by the system. The form of government
150-606: A child poverty strategy in March 2011. The wider anti-poverty strategy was carried over from direct rule in November 2006. As of November 2011, neither an Irish language strategy nor an Ulster Scots strategy had been adopted. The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure states that a Strategy for Indigenous or Regional Minority Languages "will be presented to the Executive in due course". The original Northern Ireland Executive
200-798: A cross-community vote. Following the Northern Ireland Assembly election held on 5 May 2011, a third Executive was formed on 16 May 2011 with the same five parties represented. Alliance for the first time gained administration of a department under the D'Hondt system, in addition to the Department of Justice. Peter Robinson of the DUP and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin were nominated by their parties and appointed as First Minister and deputy First Minister on 12 May 2011. Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister opposed
250-640: A department is being established or dissolved. The proposal must be made by the First Minister and the deputy First Minister and be carried by a cross-community vote in the Assembly. The number of departments was initially limited to 10 but this increased to 11 upon the devolution of justice. Ministers are disqualified from holding office if appointed to the Government of Ireland or as the chairman or deputy chairman of an Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) committee. The Good Friday Agreement states that
300-614: A deputy First Minister. In 2018, Arlene Foster stated that the ongoing political deadlock was caused by Sinn Féin's insistence on an Irish Language Act that would grant legal status to the Irish language in Northern Ireland, which Foster's party refuses to allow. The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act 2019 was passed by the UK parliament on 10 July 2019 and became law on 24 July. The main purpose of
350-474: A minimum share capital of £50,000 and usually with the letters PLC after its name. Similar companies in the United States are called publicly traded companies . A PLC can be either an unlisted or listed company on the stock exchanges . In the United Kingdom, a public limited company usually must include the words "public limited company" or the abbreviation "PLC" or "plc" at the end and as part of
400-549: A petition of 30 Northern Ireland Assembly members. This action can be taken for alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code and on "matters of public importance". The Speaker of the Assembly must consult political party leaders in the Assembly (who are often also ministers) before deciding whether the subject is a matter of public importance. Successful petitions will then be considered by the Executive. The number of ministers and their responsibilities can be changed when
450-450: A recent bill providing parties with this choice. This meant that the executive was formed only by the two major parties, the DUP and Sinn Féin, and thus giving them more seats in the Executive (with the exception of the Department of Justice which was given to an Independent Unionist MLA, Claire Sugden , due to this appointment needing cross-community support). The Executive is co-chaired by
500-738: A share capital may re-register as a plc, but a company without a share capital cannot do so. A private company must pass a special resolution that it be so re-registered and deliver a copy of the resolution together with an application form to the Registrar. The resolution must also: If it does not already have sufficient share capital, the company must issue £50,000 in shares a minimum of 25% part paid. Northern Ireland Executive Lowercase "d" per here . The Northern Ireland Executive ( Irish : Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann , Ulster Scots : Norlin Airlan Executive )
550-448: A statutory declaration. This significantly speeds the process: the record at Companies House for the formation of an Electronic Company is 23 minutes. Because the electronic process requires compatible software that works with Companies House eFiling service, companies are usually formed through a Company Formation Agent. Every company must deliver an annual return to Companies House at least once every twelve months. It has 28 days from
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#1732793228657600-693: Is the devolved government of Northern Ireland , an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly , situated in Belfast . It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 , which followed the Good Friday Agreement (or Belfast Agreement). The executive is referred to in the legislation as the Executive Committee of
650-597: Is therefore known as mandatory coalition as opposed to voluntary coalition where parties negotiate an agreement to share power. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland and some Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) members favour a move towards voluntary coalition in the longer term but this is currently opposed by Sinn Féin . The executive cannot function if either of
700-610: The Crown . Ministers are also subject to several limitations, including the European Convention on Human Rights , European Union law , other international obligations of the UK, a requirement not to discriminate on religious or political grounds, and having no power over reserved and excepted matters (which are held by the United Kingdom Government ). Ministerial decisions can be challenged by
750-698: The London Stock Exchange . The company originated as the Southern Electricity Board, created in 1948 as part of the nationalisation of the electricity industry by the Electricity Act 1947 . The board's assets passed in 1990 to Southern Electric plc, one of the fourteen public electricity suppliers , and that company was privatised in the same year. In 1998 the company merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc and became part of Scottish and Southern Energy . SSE used
800-546: The New Decade, New Approach agreement and an Executive was subsequently established. When Democratic Unionist Party First Minister Paul Givan resigned in line with his party's protest over the Northern Ireland Protocol , The Northern Ireland Executive collapsed again. No agreement on power-sharing was made after the 2022 Assembly election , and from October 2022 to February 2024, Northern Ireland
850-587: The Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 that followed the St Andrews Agreement of that year. On 9 May 2016, the number of ministries and departments of the Northern Ireland Executive was reduced, leaving the following departments: At the same time, various departments were renamed as follows: The following departments were dissolved: In contrast with Westminster system cabinets, which generally need only be backed by
900-550: The Northern Ireland Civil Service had a considerable influence on government policy. The legislation which established new departments in 1999 affirmed that "the functions of a department shall at all times be exercised subject to the direction and control of the Minister". Ministerial powers can be conferred by an Act of the Assembly and ministers can also exercise executive powers which are vested in
950-593: The United Kingdom , the others being the Scottish and Welsh governments. In January 2017, the then deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigned in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal and the Northern Ireland Executive consequently collapsed. The governing of Northern Ireland fell to civil servants in a caretaker capacity until January 2020, when the parties signed
1000-612: The "Southern Electric" name and logo for a time as a brand name for retail distribution of gas and electricity in the south of England, before replacing it with SSE branding. Following the purchase of SSE's retail business by OVO Energy in 2020, the Southern Electric brand is a trading name of OVO Electricity Limited. The key people on the board were: Chairman Henry Nimmo (1948–54), Chairman R.R.B. Brown (1964, 1967), Deputy Chairman W.B. Poulter (1964, 1967), full-time member A. W. Bunch (1967). The number of customers supplied by
1050-529: The Assembly. Devolution took place on 12 April 2010. Under D'Hondt, the SDLP would have been entitled to the extra ministerial seat on the revised Executive created by the devolution of policing and justice. Accordingly, both the UUP and SDLP protested that Alliance was not entitled, under the rules of the Good Friday Agreement , to fill the portfolio and refused to support this move. However, Alliance leader David Ford
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#17327932286571100-720: The DUP Jeffrey Donaldson announced that the DUP would restore an executive government on the condition that new legislation was passed by the UK House of Commons. On 8 May 2024, Conor Murphy stepped down as Minister for the Economy . First Minister Michelle O'Neill said that Deirdre Hargey will serve as an interim Minister for the Economy . Ministers are assisted by backbench "Assembly private secretaries" (equivalent to parliamentary private secretaries ). The non-political Attorney General for Northern Ireland
1150-510: The Executive and formed the Official Opposition for the first time. Ministerial positions were proportionally allocated between the DUP and Sinn Féin, with independent unionist Claire Sugden serving as Minister of Justice. The government collapsed on 16 January 2017, after Martin McGuinness resigned in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal . His resignation sparked a snap election as Sinn Féin refused to re-nominate
1200-532: The Executive was re-formed with Arlene Foster as First Minister and Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill as deputy First Minister following the New Decade, New Approach agreement. All five parties joined the government; other ministers include Edwin Poots (DUP); Robin Swann (UUP), Nichola Mallon (SDLP), Gordon Lyons (DUP), and Declan Kearney (SF). Alliance Party leader Naomi Long was appointed justice minister. At
1250-438: The Executive will "seek to agree each year, and review as necessary" a Programme for Government incorporating an agreed budget. The following programmes for government have been published to date: The following budgets have been published to date: Under the St Andrews Agreement , the Executive is obliged to adopt strategies on the following policy matters: The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister published
1300-569: The First Minister and deputy First Minister. Its official functions are: Executive meetings are normally held fortnightly, compared to weekly meetings of the British Cabinet and Irish Government . Under the Executive's Ministerial Code, ministers are obliged to: The Ministerial Code allows any three ministers to request a cross-community vote. The quorum for voting is seven ministers. The current system of devolution has succeeded long periods of direct rule (1974–1999 and 2002–2007), when
1350-498: The absence of a political settlement. The current Executive was provided for in the Belfast Agreement , signed on 10 April 1998. Designates for First Minister and deputy First Minister were appointed on 1 July 1998 by the UUP and SDLP, respectively. A full Executive was nominated on 29 November 1999 and took office on 2 December 1999, comprising the UUP, SDLP, Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin . Devolution
1400-545: The assembly and is an example of consociationalist ("power-sharing") government. The Northern Ireland Executive consists of the First Minister and deputy First Minister and various ministers with individual portfolios and remits. The main assembly parties appoint most ministers in the executive, except for the Minister of Justice who is elected by a cross-community vote . It is one of three devolved governments in
1450-400: The bill was to prevent another election and keep Northern Ireland services running in the absence of a functional devolved government. However, two Labour MPs, Conor McGinn and Stella Creasy , added amendments that would legalize same-sex marriage and liberalize abortion law (both devolved issues) if the DUP and Sinn Féin could not come to an agreement before 21 October. On 11 January 2020,
1500-506: The board was: The amount of electricity, in GWh, sold by the Southern Electricity Board over its operational life was: The Southern Electric name continues to be used by SSE's subsidiary Southern Electric Power Distribution plc , the distribution network operator in the south of England. In April 2013 the UK electricity market regulator OFGEM fined Southern Electric £10.5 million for breaches of conduct in relation to mis-selling, from
1550-681: The cancellation, on Form 122, must reach Companies House within one month. No fee is payable to Companies House. A company may have as many different types of shares as it wishes, all with different conditions attached to them. Generally, share types are divided into the following categories: Bearer shares are no longer possible, as they were abolished in the UK by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. Any existing bearer shares had to be converted to registered shares before February 2016, or face cancellation. A PLC has access to capital markets and can offer its shares for sale to
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1600-498: The date to which the return is made up to do this. Failure to file a return is a criminal offence, for which the officers of the company may be fined. There is an annual document-processing fee of £40 if filed by paper (or £13 for users of the Electronic Filing or WebFilings services), which must be sent to Companies House with the annual return. Both a private company limited by shares and an unlimited company with
1650-461: The first session of the assembly, Foster stated that it was "time for Stormont to move forward". The new speaker of the Assembly was a member of Sinn Féin. The collapse of this Executive led to the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election . On 3 February 2022, Paul Givan resigned as first minister, which automatically resigned Michelle O'Neill as deputy first minister and collapsed the executive of Northern Ireland. On 30 January 2024, leader of
1700-469: The joint appointment. On 16 May 2011, 10 other Executive ministers (with the exception of the Minister of Justice) and two junior ministers were appointed by their political parties. The Minister of Justice was then elected by the Assembly via a cross-community vote. On 26 August 2015, the UUP withdrew from the Executive in protest over the alleged involvement of members of the Provisional IRA in
1750-448: The legal company name. Welsh companies may instead choose to end their names with ccc , an abbreviation for cwmni cyfyngedig cyhoeddus . However, some public limited companies (mostly nationalised concerns) incorporated under special legislation are exempted from bearing any of the identifying suffixes. The term "public limited company" and the "PLC"/"plc" suffix were introduced in 1981; prior to this, all limited companies bore
1800-511: The murder of Kevin McGuigan Sr. Danny Kennedy MLA's position as Minister for Regional Development was later taken over by the DUP, thereby leaving four Northern Irish parties in the power sharing agreement. On 10 September 2015 Peter Robinson stepped down as First Minister, although he did not officially resign. Arlene Foster took over as acting First Minister. Robinson resumed his duties as First Minister again on 20 October 2015. Following
1850-410: The public through a recognised stock exchange. It can also issue advertisements offering any of its securities for sale to the public. In contrast, a private company may not offer to the public any shares in itself. The following documents, together with the registration fee are sent to the Registrar of Companies: The key difference with the paper process is that there is no Form 12 and requirement for
1900-462: The rest of the United Kingdom , have been handled by Companies House. Formation of a public limited company requires a minimum of two directors and one secretary (differing from country to country: in India three directors are required). In general terms anyone can be a company director, provided they are not disqualified on one of the following grounds: The members must agree to take some, or all, of
1950-517: The shares when the company is registered. The memorandum of association must show the names of the people who have agreed to take shares and the number of shares each will take. These people are called the subscribers. There is a minimum share capital for public limited companies: before it can start business, it must have allotted shares to the value of at least £50,000. A quarter of them, £12,500, must be paid up. Each allotted share must be paid up to at least one quarter of its nominal value together with
2000-549: The signing of the Fresh Start Agreement , Peter Robinson announced his intention to stand down as leader of the DUP and First Minister of Northern Ireland. He subsequently resigned as DUP leader on 18 December 2015, being succeeded by Arlene Foster . Foster then took office as First Minister on 11 January 2016. The fourth Executive was formed following the May 2016 election . The SDLP , UUP and Alliance Party left
2050-742: The suffix "Limited" ("Ltd."), which is still used by private limited companies . When a new company incorporates in England and Wales or in Scotland , it must register with Companies House , an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade . Prior to October 2009, companies in Northern Ireland were registered with the Northern Ireland Executive 's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment , but since then Northern Irish company registrations, as with those of
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2100-484: The top of the business down. Public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc ) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law , some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland . It is a limited liability company whose shares may be freely sold and traded to the public (although a PLC may also be privately held, often by another PLC), with
2150-414: The two largest parties refuse to take part, as these parties are allocated the First Minister and deputy First Minister positions. However, other parties are not required to enter the executive even if they are entitled to do so; instead, they can choose to go into opposition if they wish. There were some calls for the SDLP and the UUP to enter opposition after the 2007 Assembly elections , but ultimately
2200-489: The two parties chose to take the seats in the Executive to which they were entitled. In 2010, an exception to the D'Hondt system for allocating the number of ministerial portfolios was made under the Hillsborough Castle Agreement to allow the cross-community Alliance Party of Northern Ireland to hold the politically contentious policing and justice brief when most of those powers were devolved to
2250-544: The whole of any premium. A company can increase its authorised share capital by passing an ordinary resolution (unless its articles of association require a special or extraordinary resolution ). A copy of the resolution – and notice of the increase on Form 123 – must reach Companies House within 15 days of being passed. No fee is payable to Companies House. A company can decrease its authorised share capital by passing an ordinary resolution to cancel shares which have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person. Notice of
2300-532: Was elected Minister with the support of the DUP and Sinn Féin. On 26 August 2015, the UUP announced it would withdraw from the Executive and form an opposition after all, in response to the assassination of Kevin McGuigan . On 25 May 2016 a new executive was announced (three weeks after assembly election). For the first time in the assembly's history, parties that were entitled to ministries (i.e. UUP, SDLP and Alliance) chose instead to go into opposition following
2350-604: Was established on 1 January 1974, following the Sunningdale Agreement . It comprised a voluntary coalition between the Ulster Unionist Party , Social Democratic and Labour Party and Alliance Party of Northern Ireland , with the UUP's Brian Faulkner in the position of Chief Executive. It was short-lived, collapsing on 28 May 1974 due to the Ulster Workers' Council strike , and the Troubles continued in
2400-602: Was governed by civil servants. On 3 February 2024, Sinn Féin 's Michelle O'Neill was appointed First Minister, the first Irish nationalist to be appointed to the position, with DUP 's Emma Little-Pengelly as deputy First Minister. The Executive (and the Assembly) were established in law by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 that followed the Good Friday Agreement and its basis was revised by
2450-435: Was led by the DUP and Sinn Féin, with the UUP and SDLP also securing ministerial roles. However, the Executive did not meet between 19 June 2008 and 20 November 2008 due to a boycott by Sinn Féin . This took place during a dispute between the DUP and Sinn Féin over the devolution of policing and justice powers. Policing and justice powers were devolved on 12 April 2010, with the new Minister of Justice won by Alliance in
2500-512: Was suspended for four periods, during which the departments came under the responsibility of direct rule ministers from the Northern Ireland Office : The 2002–2007 suspension followed the refusal of the Ulster Unionist Party to share power with Sinn Féin after a high-profile Police Service of Northern Ireland investigation into an alleged Provisional Irish Republican Army spy ring. The second Executive formed in 2007
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