Peter Hain has moved to end the deadlock over a Stormont committee supposed to be preparing the way for devolved government.

Northern Ireland assembly members had been given until Monday to make clear their positions on the preparation for government committee.

Three days of talks last week saw no agreement on who should chair the group.

And with the parties still at odds, the Northern Ireland secretary said he was ordering the presiding officer of the assembly to call a meeting of the committee at 4.00pm on Monday.

The deputy presiding officers, the Democratic Unionist Party's Jim Wells and Sinn Fein's Francie Molloy, are to jointly chair the meetings.

"I would have preferred not to have had to issue a direction on this procedural matter," said Hain.

"But all the parties have now accepted that deadlock must not be allowed to stand in the way of the important work that needs to be done to prepare for the return of locally accountable government."

The preparation for government committee is supposed to be identifying key issues which would have to be addressed ahead of the November 24 deadline for the restoration of power sharing.

But the difficulties in coming to an agreement on how it should be run is throwing yet more doubt on whether the November deadline can be met.

Last week the committee explored a variety of proposals on how the committee should be chaired.

But the DUP was blamed by four other parties - Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionist Party, the nationalist SDLP and the cross-community Alliance Party - for the stalemate over the appointment.

The DUP wanted assembly speaker Eileen Bell to chair proceedings but she refused, insisting it would not be appropriate.

The party also suggested that their South Antrim MP Rev William McCrea or the leader of the cross-community Alliance Party David Ford should chair it.

Sinn Fein initially proposed that it and the DUP should share the chairmanship of the committee between them.

Another proposal that Bell, Wells and Molloy should chair its proceedings was also explored.

However in a letter to the parties explaining how she had sought legal advice, Bell reaffirmed her view that she could have no role on the committee.

Hain warned the parties that with "the clock ticking towards the November deadline it is imperative that progress is made".

"The committee's initial task is to identify the issues that need to be addressed to prepare for government and to refer appropriate topics that need to be publicly aired and debated in the assembly as part of the preparation process," he said.

"The MLAs have now been given the opportunity to truly represent the people of Northern Ireland's best interests and get down to the serious business of preparing for government."