Assembly Committee Calls for Urgent Action to Address ‘Unresolved Weaknesses’ in NI Civil Service

An Assembly Committee has called for urgent action to address, ‘unresolved weaknesses’ in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) and expressed concern that recommendations it made five years ago have not been fully implemented.

The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Daniel McCrossan MLA outlined the Committee’s concerns in a letter sent today to the Head of the NI Civil Service, Jayne Brady.

PAC’s decision to write to her was prompted by a briefing to the Committee earlier this month from Dorinnia Carville, the Comptroller and Auditor General.

She updated PAC on the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report, Leading and Resourcing the Northern Ireland Civil Service which was published in January 2026.  Its publication follows the NIAO’s 2020 report on, Capacity and Capability in the NICS and the Committee’s report of the same name in 2021. 

Daniel McCrossan MLA said: “The ongoing delays in addressing a number of key issues raise serious questions about the Civil Service’s ability to demonstrate value for money and deliver effectively for the public. 

“We are concerned about the high level of vacancies, reliance on temporary staff, a rising sickness absence and insufficient workforce data.

“It is not acceptable that long-standing weaknesses in NICS’s workforce planning, recruitment, capability and people management remain unresolved. PAC highlighted many of the same issues in a report in 2021 and we’re exasperated to discover they still persist.”

The Committee noted its particular concern that only five of the 23 recommendations made by the Northern Ireland Audit Office in 2020 had been fully achieved – and that just five of PAC’s 12 recommendations were delivered. 

PAC acknowledged that NIAO had identified some positive developments in its report, including strengthened governance arrangements and the publication of a People Strategy. 

Mr McCrossan continued: “I wrote to Ms Brady today to outline the Committee’s position and I have asked for a detailed response from her by 23 February.

“In her reply, we will expect to see a roadmap for how the Northern Ireland Civil Service intends to address the outstanding issues and recommendations highlighted in the NIAO report. In particular, we want to understand how the People Strategy will be delivered as a priority across the NICS.

“We will need to see timescales for its implementation and assurances on how progress will be monitored and reported on.”

The PAC Chair added that there needed to be sustained leadership focus and demonstrable delivery and that the Committee expected to be updated on clear accountability, realistic timescales and measurable outcomes.

Daniel McCrossan MLA said: “The Committee will continue to monitor progress closely. Going forward, we will expect clear evidence that the lessons from previous reports are being acted upon in practice.”

Ends

For further information please contact Felicity Templeton, Assembly communications office on 07977 635930 felicity.templeton@niassembly.gov.uk

Notes to editors:

• The Northern Ireland Audit Office’s 2026 report, Leading and Resourcing the Northern Ireland Civil Service can be found here
•  The Public Accounts Committee’s 2021 Report on Capacity and Capability in the Northern Ireland Civil Service can be found here
• The Northern Ireland Audit Office’s 2020 report, Capacity and Capability in the Northern Ireland Civil Service can be found here
• The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a Standing Committee. It is PAC’s statutory function to consider the accounts, and reports on accounts, of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) (Northern Ireland Act 1998, Section 60(3)). PAC also considers value for money reports which follow an examination on the ‘economy, efficiency and effectiveness’, with which a public sector body has used its resources. These examinations take place under Article 8 of the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (‘the 1987 Order’).  Further information on the Committee Membership, its work and remit can be found here