Special Adviser Role Clarity
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
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
(i) Under existing arrangements, Northern Ireland Ministers should be responsible for their Special Advisers. (ii) New or returning Ministers should be invited to convey to the relevant Permanent Secretary, and make transparent to the Department, how the Minister expects his or her Special Adviser to fulfil their role in relation to considering submissions and associated background documents. (iii) There should be clarity with regard to the Minister's and the Special Adviser's respective roles in terms of reading, advising and commenting upon submissions, technical reports and other documentation advanced as a basis for ministerial decisions. (iv) The advisory role of the Special Adviser in relation to ministerial decision-making, including the sequencing of consideration by the Special Adviser and the Minister, should be clearly set out for officials to understand. (v) This should include provision for exceptional circumstances in which, and the means by which, the usual procedures may need to be adapted, for example in cases of particular urgency or when a Minister is abroad on official business or on leave.
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
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The NIAO Second Progress Report (October 2024) assessed all three sub-parts as Implemented, stating that ministerial responsibility for Special Advisers had been established in the revised Code of Conduct (January 2020, updated August 2021) (NIAO Second Progress Report, October 2024).
Response — verbatim from government
●Northern Ireland Executive
[Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 5-7, 25, 37, 39-43 together as a group under the 'Ministers and Special Advisers' theme.] NI Executive Response (October 2021): These recommendations can be accepted in full, with the exception of the consideration of an independent mechanism to assess special advisers' compliance with the Code of Conduct. They have been addressed through work to date, including: revisions to the Ministerial Code of Conduct, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers and NICS Code of Ethics, and the introduction of new Guidance for Ministers; the publication of new enforcement arrangements for ministerial standards of behaviour; agreement on the development of a multi-year outcomes-focussed Programme for Government, aligned with the Budget, including stakeholder engagement and consultation; departmental induction and briefing for Ministers on the return of the Executive, and Executive away-days; the strengthening of Private Offices including the higher grading of the Private Secretary and Assistant Private Secretary roles; identification of the team where matters of policy in respect of Special Advisers are to be dealt with. Further work is required to: deliver induction programmes for Ministers and for special advisers; arrange for publication of relevant interests of civil servants.
Northern Ireland Executive · 7 Oct 2021 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 15 Oct 2024 NIAO Second Progress Report (October 2024): Implemented. All three sub-parts assessed as Implemented. Ministerial responsibility for Special Advisers established in revised Code of Conduct (January 2020) and Functioning of Government Act 2021. Special Adviser role clarity set out in Private Office guidance. Source →
- 22 Dec 2021 · NI Assembly Functioning of Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (NI) 2021 puts SpAd accountability into statute. SpAd Code of Conduct revised. Salaries capped at £85k. View source → Confirmed Completed
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.