FOI 05-25: Information regarding whistleblower complaints filed against government departments

Information Standards Freedom of Information Response

21 January 2025

Our Ref: FoI 05-25

Freedom of Information Act 2000

I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 2 January 2025 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). In your request, you asked that the Assembly Commission provide-

"I am requesting information regarding whistle-blower complaints filed against government departments. Specifically, I request the following details:

  1. Number of Complaints
    • The total number of whistle-blower complaints filed against government departments from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2024.
  2. Breakdown by Department
    • A department-wise breakdown of these complaints, specifying the number received by each government department annually during this period.
  3. Nature of Complaints
    • The categories or types of issues raised in these complaints (e.g., fraud, harassment, policy violations, misuse of funds).
  4. Outcomes and Resolutions
    • The number of complaints investigated and resolved, including outcomes such as dismissals, disciplinary actions, or changes policy. The number of complaints currently under investigation.
  5. Additional Context
    • Any reports or reviews conducted by the government to analyse trends or improve whistleblowing policies and protections since 2020."

 

Our response

The Assembly Commission does not hold this information.

However, individual Members may have asked questions on these subjects in plenary. All questions and answers received are published on the Assembly's website and are searchable, using this link.

Members may also have tabled motions or other types of plenary business on these topics. All plenary items, including motions, are published on the Assembly's website, and are searchable using this link.

On this page, you can search all types of plenary business. If you only want to search motions, choose Motions from the drop-down menu under the heading Plenary Business Type, and click search. If a motion has been debated by the Assembly, a link to the Official Report (Hansard) of that Assembly debate will be included in the search results.

 

Further Information

You have the right to request an internal review of this decision by the Assembly Commission. If you wish to request such a review, please write to me at the above address. If, after that review, you are dissatisfied with the way in which the Assembly Commission has handled your request for information, you may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Your request for information and our response may be published in the disclosure log maintained by the Assembly Commission under a publication scheme agreed with the ICO. The request and our response will be anonymised.

Yours faithfully

INFORMATION STANDARDS