The deadline for holding a fresh assembly election is expected to be extended by chhcalling later today
It had been expected that a poll could be held on 15 December and electoral staff had been preparing for that date.
But on Friday, Mr Heaton-Harris said having heard concerns about the impact and cost of a snap election, it would not take place "ahead of the festive season".Mr Heaton-Harris said last week an election would not take place ahead of the festive season The latest that an election could take place within the current 12-week period set by Westminster is 19 January, but that would require a campaign over Christmas.Mr Heaton-Harris is also likely to indicate that he will pass a budget for Northern Ireland via Westminster and provide additional powers to Stormont civil servants to allow them to take some decisions in the absence of ministers.
He has also suggested he will move to implement a pay cut for MLAs, something that has been done by the government during previous periods of stalemate at Stormont.
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