Departmental capacity for grant design
20 items
2 sources
Initial lack of departmental capacity and insufficient local engagement in the design and delivery of grant schemes.
Cross-Source Insight
Departmental capacity for grant design has been flagged across 2 independent accountability sources:
17 inquiry recs
3 PFD reports
This issue has been identified by multiple independent accountability bodies, suggesting it is a recurring systemic concern.
Inquiry Recommendations (17)
RHI-1 — Policy Skills Assessment
Recommendation: A new policy at its earliest stage should be subject to a rigorous process to determine whether the Northern Ireland devolved administration has (or is prepared to assign) the necessary skills and resources to deliver the policy safely and competently. …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 1-4 together as a group under the 'Policy Development' theme.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can be accepted in full. Some elements are addressed in existing …
Accepted
No update 2+ yrs
RHI-10 — External Consultants Guidance
Recommendation: The Northern Ireland Civil Service should consider what changes are needed to its guidance and practices on the use of external consultants arising from the experience of RHI. Specific recommendations include: (a) that better assessments are needed at the outset …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 8-18, 24, 26-28, 32b, 34-36 together as a group under the 'Professional Skills, Resourcing, Record Keeping and Raising Concerns' themes.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can …
Accepted
No update 2+ yrs
RHI-11 — Project Management Disciplines
Recommendation: Best practice project and risk management disciplines should be the default practice within the Northern Ireland Civil Service when developing novel and complex policies and managing their implementation. These disciplines can be widely applied and should not be confined only …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 8-18, 24, 26-28, 32b, 34-36 together as a group under the 'Professional Skills, Resourcing, Record Keeping and Raising Concerns' themes.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-12 — Invest NI and SIB Collaboration
Recommendation: The leaders of the Northern Ireland Civil Service should work with Invest Northern Ireland and the Strategic Investment Board to consider how both organisations can better contribute their expertise to the work of mainstream Departments, particularly in relation to good …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 8-18, 24, 26-28, 32b, 34-36 together as a group under the 'Professional Skills, Resourcing, Record Keeping and Raising Concerns' themes.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-13 — External Expertise on Project Boards
Recommendation: Project boards are an essential element of project management oversight and must include individuals who can challenge and who are not directly responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the project. Such boards, in appropriate circumstances, can benefit greatly from the …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 8-18, 24, 26-28, 32b, 34-36 together as a group under the 'Professional Skills, Resourcing, Record Keeping and Raising Concerns' themes.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can …
Accepted
No update 2+ yrs
RHI-14 — Risk Tracking and Reporting
Recommendation: The risks involved in implementation of an initiative must be tracked, re-considered regularly and used to manage, improve and adjust the project in real time. How the risks are being acted upon should be reported to the Project Board and …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 8-18, 24, 26-28, 32b, 34-36 together as a group under the 'Professional Skills, Resourcing, Record Keeping and Raising Concerns' themes.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-15 — Programme Boards for Sector Coordination
Recommendation: Co-ordination of groups of projects aiming to achieve change in a particular sector – e.g. renewable energy projects – would be stronger through use of high level Programme Boards. Such boards should meet regularly and receive reports of relevant experience …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 8-18, 24, 26-28, 32b, 34-36 together as a group under the 'Professional Skills, Resourcing, Record Keeping and Raising Concerns' themes.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-16 — Third Party Governance
Recommendation: Where other government bodies, such as Ofgem, or contractors or other third parties are involved in the implementation of a project, the 'home' Department must retain overall control and overall project management. The governance arrangement between the Northern Ireland Department …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 8-18, 24, 26-28, 32b, 34-36 together as a group under the 'Professional Skills, Resourcing, Record Keeping and Raising Concerns' themes.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-19 — Business Case Approval Redesign
Recommendation: The processes within a Department for approving new expenditure and business cases including, where it forms part of that process, the role of Casework Committees, should be thoroughly re-designed to be more rigorous, testing and independent. Such processes should be …
Gov response: [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. Addressed through the major and fundamental Review of the Expenditure Approval and …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-2 — Novel Policy Scrutiny
Recommendation: Novel, potentially volatile and untested initiatives should in future be scrutinised thoroughly, well ahead of ministerial and business case approval. The Inquiry commends processes such as a 'starting point Gateway assessment' and, at a suitable point, a 'feasibility signoff' completed …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 1-4 together as a group under the 'Policy Development' theme.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can be accepted in full. Some elements are addressed in existing …
Accepted
No update 2+ yrs
RHI-20 — Flexible Expenditure Rules
Recommendation: Public expenditure rules should be sufficiently flexible so that false economies can be avoided. In order to deliver a policy objective, Departments should not be required to choose a more expensive option in overall terms because they cannot use the …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 19-23, 29-33 together as a group under the 'Governance and Financial Controls' theme.] Accepted with note that public expenditure in NI is governed by UK Budgeting rules set …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-21 — Sceptical Business Case Scrutiny
Recommendation: The Department of Finance's distinctive role in scrutinising business cases should be searching and sceptical, guarding against over-reliance on the assurances offered by the applicant Department.
Gov response: [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. Addressed through the Review of the Expenditure Approval and Business Case Processes. …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-22 — Proactive DoF Monitoring
Recommendation: Particularly where a policy initiative is demand-led, novel, complex and/or likely to be lengthy, consideration should be given to increasing Department of Finance involvement from an early stage and on an ongoing basis, including a more proactive role in monitoring …
Gov response: [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. DoF now applies non-standard conditions of approval for complex projects with tailored …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-23 — 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 …
Gov response: [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 …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-29 — Departmental Finance Functions
Recommendation: The finance function within a Department should exert the necessary authority and capability to fulfil the requirements of 'Managing Public Money Northern Ireland', namely to retain a firm grasp of the organisation's financial position and performance. The Inquiry recommends that …
Gov response: [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. Addressed through re-establishment of DoF-led Finance Director meetings and the initiation of …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-3 — Policy Skills Training
Recommendation: As far as practicable, Northern Ireland Civil Service teams working on policies, particularly new and untested initiatives, should be trained and supported so that they have the skills to do the job, not least the ability to model the policy, …
Gov response: [Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 1-4 together as a group under the 'Policy Development' theme.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can be accepted in full. Some elements are addressed in existing …
Accepted
Delivered
RHI-30 — Budget Holder Financial Training
Recommendation: Civil servants who are responsible for holding and monitoring a budget should have to demonstrate core requirements in financial literacy and an understanding of how public spending operates, including what is expected of them according to the core guidance contained …
Gov response: [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. Addressed through the delivery of an online package of Public Expenditure training …
Accepted
Delivered
PFD Reports (3)
Ryan Campbell
Concerns: The hospital's lack of a full suite of cardiac diagnostic imaging equipment, specifically CT or MR angiograms, causes diagnostic delays and necessitates risky patient transfers.
Responded
Gustavo Da Cruz, Mohit Dupar, Inthushan Sriskantharasa, Gurushanth Srithavarajah, Kenugen Saththiyanathan, Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan and Nitharsan Ravi
Concerns: There is a lack of formal governance and risk management for beach safety. A national review of safety regimes and potential government powers to restrict beach access is needed.
Responded
Cameron Forster
Concerns: Parachutes were not supplied for a light aircraft flight, and there is no mandatory spin recovery training specific to aircraft types, increasing risks during aerobatics.
Overdue