RHI-23 Response Accepted Self-assessed

Ministerial Notification of Approval Conditions

Recommendation

Ministers should always be advised of any conditions attached to the approval of a policy or project by the Department of Finance. The Department of Finance should also require, and be kept informed of, regular reviews to ensure compliance with such conditions by the spending Department.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the NI Executive Response (October 2021) and the NIAO Second Progress Report (October 2024), revised guidance has addressed ministerial notification of approval conditions, with departments confirming awareness of conditions in their Annual Assurance Statements. According to the NI Executive Response (October 2021), the Department of Finance's supply includes a line in non-standard approval letters stating that Ministers should be made aware of such conditions.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.finance-ni.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
Northern Ireland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Department of Finance
07 Oct 2021

[Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 19-23, 29-33 together as a group under the 'Governance and Financial Controls' theme.] Accepted in full. As part of the Annual Assurance Statement, departments confirm that Ministers have been made aware of conditions applied to expenditure approvals. Supply includes a line in non-standard approval letters saying Ministers should be made aware.

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Progress Timeline
Official Report
15 Oct 2024

NIAO Second Progress Report (October 2024): Implemented. Ministerial notification of approval conditions addressed through revised guidance.

Source
Source
Inquiry RHI Inquiry
Report The Report of the Independent Public Inquiry into the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme 13 Mar 2020
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Department of Finance Primary
Themes & Tags
Public project assurance methodology Departmental capacity for grant design Governance Ministers Approval Conditions Compliance
Recommendation age 6.0 yrs
Last formal update 525 days ago