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RHI-3

Policy Skills Training

RHI Inquiry · The Report of the Independent Public Inquiry into the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme · Issued 13 March 2020 · Addressed to: Northern Ireland Executive

Government responseNorthern Ireland Executive: Accepted (Oct 2021)

DeliveryNorthern Ireland Executive says in progress (Feb 2025)Department of Finance says in progress (Mar 2024)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry 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, the skills to test it in advance under different conditions and scenarios, and the self-awareness to seek and use external challenge.

RHI Inquiry, The Report of the Independent Public Inquiry into the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme · 13 Mar 2020 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

In February 2025, the Northern Ireland Executive reported that work remained in progress, noting that the action plan attached to the Policy for our People strategy would be reviewed and its timescales updated in line with capacity (Northern Ireland Executive, Feb 2025). Earlier, in October 2024, the Northern Ireland Audit Office found that the recommendation was likely to be fully implemented based on planned action, but stated that the outworking of the strategy was still required to provide clear evidence of policy teams' capacity and capability (Northern Ireland Audit Office, Oct 2024).

AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.

About this summary
This recommendation asks for cultural or behavioural change, which is difficult to verify from published sources alone. The record above reflects policy commitments rather than measured outcomes.

Government response

●Northern Ireland Executive · Accepted · 7 Oct 2021

Words of: Northern Ireland Executive, Executive Response to the RHI Inquiry Report Recommendations and Action Plan, Annex A, 7 October 2021

These recommendations can be accepted in full.

Some elements are addressed in existing guidance, including:
• the role of the Senior Responsible Officer in respect of the delivery of a project or programme;
• existing Business Case guidance;
• the obligation upon civil servants under their Code of Ethics to provide objective and impartial advice, and to give Ministers all the facts;
• departmental systems to set priorities and targets (consistent with the PfG) to report progress against key targets.

They have been addressed in work to date through:
• the review of recruitment and selection policies and practices as part of the NICS People Strategy;
• the Review of Business Case and Expenditure Approval processes.

Further work is required to:
• reflect key principles in the guidance relating to policy making, Business Cases, Project Management including GatewayTM guidance, and risk-management;
• address the knowledge and skills of those in policy roles, including training with an emphasis on modelling and testing, by conducting a fundamental review of the Practical Guide to Policy Making through the Policy Champions’’ Network, and follow through to the Policy Skills Guide and policy-skills training offer.;
• embed NICS ethical standards;
• ensure financial and non-financial performance target reporting to the Minister, including outside the budget period.

Response document: Executive Response to the RHI Inquiry Report Recommendations and Action Plan: Annex A Summary of Recommendations and Response

Site note: These are the Northern Ireland Executive's words from Annex A, "Summary of Recommendations and Response", published on this page with the Executive Response to the RHI Inquiry Report Recommendations and Action Plan on 7 October 2021, the day the Executive agreed it. The Department of Finance publishes the response, but it is the Executive's, so the site records it under the Executive. The annex is a PDF that the publisher asks automated readers not to fetch, so the site cites the page that links it.

Site note: Annex A gives this passage once, for the recommendations under its heading "PROFESSIONAL SKILLS: POLICY SKILLS": recommendations 1, 2, 3 and 4. It is the Executive's response to the group, not to this recommendation alone.

Delivery

●Northern Ireland Executive says in progress · 19 Feb 2025

The existing Action Plan attached to Policy for our People will be reviewed, and owners and timescales updated, in line with capacity, by the end of January 2025

From: Implementation of the Recommendations of the RHI Inquiry (publication page for three documents)

Site note: This page publishes three monitoring tables: the Department of Finance's of 1 September 2023 and 14 March 2024, and the Executive's table of 19 February 2025 of commitments on the remaining recommendations. None of the three lists every recommendation. The row carries the table's own cell for this recommendation: the "Updates" column, or where that is empty in 2023 the "Status of further work" column, and in 2025 the "Commitment" column. The tables are PDFs that the publisher asks automated readers not to fetch, so the site cites the page that links them.

Site note: In the Executive's table of 19 February 2025 the lead named for this commitment is "Denis McMahon, Head of the Policy Profession". The name is the table's record of who is to act, not the speaker: the words are the Executive's.

●Department of Finance says in progress · 14 Mar 2024

Policy teams are encouraged to engage closely with, or where possible include professional colleagues from NISRA and the economist profession throughout the process and from the earliest point. Those professional colleagues will seek to work closely together with each other and with policy teams.

Training in analysis of policy options is available to generalist civil servants in policy teams through a range of accredited courses at degree or Masters-level. A range of internal training opportunities also exist, including courses that directly address the policy development process as well as key supporting courses. (For example, in options appraisal and evaluation).

Making a Difference was published 1 February 2023. RHI recommendations referenced in the launch presentation to 900+ policy officials.

The review of the Policy Skills Guide was commissioned by the Policy Steering Group in November, within the context of wider development of the policy function.

From: Implementation of the Recommendations of the RHI Inquiry (publication page for three documents)

Site note: This page publishes three monitoring tables: the Department of Finance's of 1 September 2023 and 14 March 2024, and the Executive's table of 19 February 2025 of commitments on the remaining recommendations. None of the three lists every recommendation. The row carries the table's own cell for this recommendation: the "Updates" column, or where that is empty in 2023 the "Status of further work" column, and in 2025 the "Commitment" column. The tables are PDFs that the publisher asks automated readers not to fetch, so the site cites the page that links them.

Earlier statements on delivery (0)

●Department of Finance · 1 Sep 2023

Policy teams are encouraged to engage closely with, or where possible include professional colleagues from NISRA and the economist profession throughout the process and from the earliest point. Those professional colleagues will seek to work closely together with each other and with policy teams.

Training in analysis of policy options is available to generalist civil servants in policy teams through a range of accredited courses at degree or Masters-level. A range of internal training opportunities also exist, including courses that directly address the policy development process as well as key supporting courses. (For example, in options appraisal and evaluation).

Making a Difference was published 1 February. RHI recommendations referenced in the launch presentation to 900+ policy officials.

The review and, if necessary, development of the Policy Skills Guide is to be considered within the context of wider development of the policy function.

From: Implementation of the Recommendations of the RHI Inquiry (publication page for three documents)

Site note: This page publishes three monitoring tables: the Department of Finance's of 1 September 2023 and 14 March 2024, and the Executive's table of 19 February 2025 of commitments on the remaining recommendations. None of the three lists every recommendation. The row carries the table's own cell for this recommendation: the "Updates" column, or where that is empty in 2023 the "Status of further work" column, and in 2025 the "Commitment" column. The tables are PDFs that the publisher asks automated readers not to fetch, so the site cites the page that links them.

What other bodies have found

In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.

●NI Audit Office · 15 Oct 2024

The recommendation is likely to be fully implemented based on the planned action.

Whilst we note the Department’s responses, it will require the outworking of the Policy for our People strategy (published in September 2023) to take place in order to provide clear evidence that the policy teams have the capacity and capability to design and deliver policy.

From: Northern Ireland Non-Domestic RHI Scheme: Progressing implementation of the Public Inquiry recommendations - 2nd Report (Appendix 4)

Site note: This is the Northern Ireland Audit Office's assessment, from Appendix 4 of its second report on the Inquiry's recommendations (15 October 2024), the column "2024 NIAO Assessment". The Audit Office monitors implementation at the Inquiry's request; its assessment is shown beside the Executive's own account and does not set the recommendation's status.

How this page is built

The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.