Pandemic prompted 51 ministerial directions in Northern Ireland

An Audit Office report found that £1.4bn was released as a result of the pandemic.

The use of Ministerial Directions is "significantly more" prevalent at Stormont than in other devolved regions, according to the Northern Ireland Audit Office.

Ministerial Directions are formal instructions from ministers directing their Permanent Secretary to proceed, despite objections, with a spending proposal.

Permanent Secretaries are directly accountable to the NI Assembly for how their department spends its money, and should seek a Ministerial Direction if they consider a spending proposal breaches any of the following circumstances:

  • Regularity – if the proposal is outside the legal powers, NI Assembly consents, or Department of Finance delegations;

  • Propriety - if the proposal breaches NI Assembly control procedures;

  • Poor value for money – if an alternative proposal, or doing nothing, could deliver better value for money.

The report noted a total of 105 Ministerial Directions, nearly half of these were issued in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report found £1.4bn was released in response to the pandemic.

Since 1998, a total of 105 MDs have been issued in NI, 69 of which were issued since 1 April 2020.

The primary reason behind the significant increase since April 2020 has been the spending proposals developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report also highlighted comparisons of the use of Ministerial Directions by other UK governments, indicating that they have been "significantly more prevalent" in Northern Ireland.

Since 1998, just one Ministerial Direction has been issued in Wales, and five in Scotland.

Northern Ireland’s Comptroller and Auditor General Dorinnia Carville said: “The Ministerial Direction process in Northern Ireland is a critical control mechanism for Ministers and their Permanent Secretaries in the management and accountability of public funds.

"It is important to emphasise that the use of Ministerial Directions does not preclude the responsibility of public servants to exercise good governance, decision making and financial management in their delivery."

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