Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Bill

The right hon. Gentleman may accept that many people are relying on paragraph 10 of the St. Andrews agreement, which states:"““the Assembly will meet to nominate the First and Deputy First Minister on 24 November.””" It also states that"““in the event of failure to reach agreement by the 24 November we will proceed on the basis of””" other ““partnership arrangements””. Furthermore, the timetable in annexe D to the agreement states, under the date 24 November:"““Assembly meets to nominate FM/DFM.””"