Pre-election funding announcement ‘did not discredit civil service impartiality’

The impartiality of the civil service was maintained when a £300 million funding announcement was made just days before the General Election, a Stormont committee has been told.

Neil Gibson, the permanent secretary at the Department of Finance, said the June monitoring round announcement made on Monday was handled with a “markedly different approach” than in previous years.

However, committee chair Matthew O’Toole renewed his attack on the timing of the monitoring round announcement, stating it was “quite astounding” that it could be made so close to an election.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald made the funding announcement in the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings on Monday.

The in-year June monitoring round exercise saw previously unallocated funds distributed to Stormont departments.

Health, education and social house building were the main beneficiaries of the allocation of £250 million of resource spend and £50 million of capital money.

Some £122 million was allocated to the under-pressure Department of Health.

An outstanding pay settlement for non-teaching educational support workers will be funded from £43.7 million allocated to the Department of Education.

Mr Gibson gave evidence to the Finance Committee on Wednesday.

SDLP MLA Mr O’Toole reminded him that during a previous committee appearance last week he has said any pre-election monitoring round announcement would need to be communicated with “particular care”.

He added: “The monitoring round was communicated via a press conference in the Great Hall at Stormont, minutes after the monitoring (round) was emailed to MLAs and before it was delivered via oral statement to MLAs.

“So to the media, via both the Finance Minister and the First and deputy First Minister, it was communicated via a podium in the Great Hall.

“It was then widely reported by the media as a mini-budget.

“Given the context of the pre-election guidance published at the end of May which was very clear about the civil service needing to avoid conflict ahead of the election period and indeed maintain the strictest perception of civil service impartiality – how do you think that went?”

Mr Gibson said: “I do believe we have still maintained our impartiality. We did a very different approach.

“I said last week we would consider communications very carefully and we did.

“It’s a markedly different approach to what you would see in previous years.

“We don’t have ministerial quotes in the press statements, we have linked on our social media only to the factual press release with the numbers in it, we didn’t provide any factual briefings to the media as officials as we would normally do.”

Mr Gibson said he was comfortable with the position taken by Ms Archibald that the monitoring round announcement needed to be made at the earliest opportunity due to the funding pressures on Stormont departments.

Mr O’Toole said: “You had no responsibility whatsoever for the fact that there was a huge press conference in the Great Hall and that this was widely reported as a mini-budget three days out from an election campaign?

“You don’t think in any way that discredits the impartiality of the civil service?”

Mr Gibson said mini-budget was not phrasing that had been used by the department.

Mr O’Toole responded: “From my perspective and I think from the perspective of a lot of people watching it was frankly quite astounding that a mini-budget, as it was called, a June monitoring round, could be produced and issued like that and there be no concern or apparently no concern for how that would appear in terms of civil service impartiality.”

He added: “Are you saying that waiting four days until Friday, two days from now, was an unacceptable risk to the delivery of public services?”

The senior civil servant said: “In my view as accounting officer, my advice has been consistent, absolutely as soon as possibly it can be done.”

Mr O’Toole said: “You don’t think it would have been slightly better in terms of the propriety and perception of civil service impartiality for that to happen in a few days, frankly a few hours time after an election period was over?”

Mr Gibson reiterated the decision had been taken that the funding announcement should be made as soon as possible.