Civil Service publishes action plan in response to external review

A 33-point action plan to improve governance across the NI Civil Service has been published today.

The plan is in response to findings from an external independent review undertaken by PwC to examine the handling of concerns and other matters raised in a case taken by a former DAERA employee.

Commissioned by DAERA on behalf of the Department’s Permanent Secretary Katrina Godfrey, the Department of Finance Permanent Secretary Neil Gibson and the Head of the Civil Service Jayne Brady, the reports and action plan have been shared with staff, trade unions, MLAs and the NI Audit Office. 

Jayne Brady said:

“I welcome the findings in the reports. As a Service, we are committed to learning from this review and addressing the issues identified.

“We remain on a journey of continuous improvement and the action plan sets out our response to the review recommendations.“

We will implement each of the 33 actions so that there is greater confidence that we are delivering the best possible service for the public and our workforce.”

The external review highlights issues in the recording and escalating of concerns, the application of some policies and the way in which employment related legal cases are managed by the NICS.  

A new NICS Raising a Concern Policy Framework has also been published. These guidelines for Departments set out, for the first time, a single, overarching approach to dealing with concerns raised. 

A refreshed Civil Service Code of Ethics, which includes the obligation on all civil servants to keep proper records, will be embedded into performance management processes.

Neither PwC’s Lessons learned and recommendations report, nor the Action Plan, addresses the actions of individual civil servants. The NI Civil Service, as a responsible employer, does not comment on internal employment related matters, which may or may not arise.

The Permanent Secretaries of DAERA and DoF will monitor the status of actions and have already asked their respective Departmental Audit Committees to scrutinise progress. Quarterly progress reports will be published on their respective websites.

The review also identifies areas for improvement in the culture of the service.

Jayne Brady said:

“Concerns must always be raised, listened to and acted upon in the proper manner. It is critical that every civil servant maintains proper records and that all policies are up-to-date. These are the foundations of good governance.  

“Some of the issues identified in this review, particularly in relation to record-keeping, were previously highlighted by the Inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (RHI) report. This is not good enough and as leaders of the NI Civil Service, we will rigorously pursue progress against the recommendations.

“Improving the application of policies and procedures is a starting point, but real success requires behavioural and cultural change. Work is already underway to empower and support civil servants in effectively delivering the work of government and to develop an inclusive workplace culture.”

Notes to editors: 

1. The PwC reports were commissioned by DAERA, on behalf of the Department’s Permanent Secretary, the Department of Finance Permanent Secretary and the Head of the Civil Service. The reports and action plan are available here.
2. The Terms of Reference committed to the publication of the outcomes of the review. The decision was taken in the interest of transparency for both papers of the External Independent Review in full. This has taken longer than initially anticipated. 
3. Neither PwC’s Lessons learned and recommendations report, nor the action plan, addresses the actions of individual civil servants. The NI Civil Service, as a responsible employer, does not comment on internal employment related matters, which may or may not arise. The requirements of employment law, the contractual obligations applying to every civil servant, and the obligation of fairness to all staff mean that any such matters must remain confidential in order to be lawful and fair and no individual civil servant or department may comment on these.
4. NICS Code of Ethics.
5. NICS Raising a Concern Policy Framework.
6. The full costs of the review are currently being finalised and will be published in due course on the DAERA website.

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