A planned meeting of the House Standing Committee for the Consideration of Bills will be suspended when discussing a clause on civil unions so the head of Family Studies at the University of Malta can give her input.

This was the outcome of a ruling Speaker Anġlu Farrugia gave at the request of Opposition Whip David Agius following the cancellation of a meeting of the permanent Committee on Family Affairs because it was expected that there would not be a quorum.

Dr Farrugia said no committee chairman could decide whether there was a quorum or not until a meeting was about to start.

Mr Agius said that Nationalist MPs Joseph Cassar and Claudette Buttigieg had approached committee chairman Anthony Agius Decelis asking for a meeting of the Committee for the Consideration of Bills to hear Angela Abela.

Mr Agius Decelis had immediately agreed called a meeting by e-mail within two hours of Dr Cassar’s request.

Another e-mail was subsequently sent to members saying the meeting was being cancelled due to lack of quorum.

In his ruling, the Speaker observed that immediately following the request, government whip Carmelo Abela recalled a decision by the House Business Committee that such requests for meetings should not be made over the telephone or at weekends.

The House Business Committee had also agreed that when the Civil Unions Bill would be considered, interested people and organisations would be heard.

Notice of the meeting for the consideration of the Bill was issued on Thursday and all MPs had received invitations to the meeting for Monday and yesterday.

Dr Farrugia said Dr Cassar’s request for a meeting of the Family Affairs Committee had been justified and, in fact, Mr Agius Decelis had got moving on it within two hours.

The choice of wording of the notice cancelling the Family Affairs Committee meeting was “unhappy” but it was evident that there had been no bad faith on the part of Mr Agius Decelis.