Sceptical Business Case Scrutiny
RHI Inquiry · The Report of the Independent Public Inquiry into the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme · Issued 13 March 2020 · Addressed to: Department of Finance
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The Department of Finance's distinctive role in scrutinising business cases should be searching and sceptical, guarding against over-reliance on the assurances offered by the applicant Department.
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 this recommendation as Implemented, stating that the Department of Finance's distinctive scrutiny role for business cases had been maintained and strengthened (NIAO Second Progress Report, October 2024).
Response — verbatim from government
●Department of Finance
[Note: The NI Executive responded to recommendations 19-23, 29-33 together as a group under the 'Governance and Financial Controls' theme.] Accepted in full. Addressed through the Review of the Expenditure Approval and Business Case Processes. DoF now applies non-standard conditions of approval for complex projects; tailored monitoring approach demonstrates proactivity.
Department of Finance · 7 Oct 2021 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 15 Oct 2024 NIAO Second Progress Report (October 2024): Implemented. DoF's distinctive scrutiny role for business cases maintained and strengthened. Source →
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.