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COVID-M2.13

NI Executive Confidentiality Duty

COVID-19 Inquiry · Module 2: Core Decision-Making · Issued 20 November 2025 · Addressed to: The Executive Office

Government responseUK Government: Not applicable (Mar 2026)Northern Ireland Executive: Under consideration (Mar 2026)

DeliveryNo statement from The Executive Office found

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

The Executive Office should amend the Ministerial Code to impose a duty of confidentiality on ministers that prohibits the disclosure of the individual views of ministers expressed during meetings of the Northern Ireland Executive Committee.

COVID-19 Inquiry, Module 2: Core Decision-Making · 20 Nov 2025 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

The Northern Ireland Executive stated in March 2026 that the recommendation remained under consideration, noting that The Executive Office would consider proposals to amend the Ministerial Code, though any change would require agreement by the Executive Committee and Assembly (Northern Ireland Executive response, Mar 2026). The UK Government (Cabinet Office) stated in March 2026 that the recommendation was not for it to respond to (Cabinet Office response, Mar 2026). The record holds no update since the Northern Ireland Executive's response of March 2026 (Northern Ireland Executive response, Mar 2026).

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

Government response

●UK Government · Not applicable · 25 Mar 2026

Words of: UK Government (Cabinet Office), UK Government Response to the Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2 Report (CP 1534), 25 March 2026

This recommendation is not for the UK government to respond to.

Extract from: UK Government Response to the Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2 Report

●Northern Ireland Executive · Under consideration · 18 Mar 2026

Words of: Northern Ireland Executive, Executive Response to the Covid-19 Module 2 Report March 2026, 18 March 2026

Remains under consideration

The Executive recognises that the unauthorised disclosure of information from its discussions during the pandemic was not acceptable, created confusion and undermined public confidence in Executive decision-making.

The Ministerial Code for Northern Ireland sets out the rules and procedures for the exercise of the duties and responsibilities of Ministers and Junior Ministers and their obligations to the Executive Committee.

TEO will consider proposals for amendment of the Ministerial Code. This would require agreement by the Executive Committee and Assembly.

Response document: Executive Response to the Covid-19 Module 2 Report March 2026

Site note: The Northern Ireland Executive's response to the Module 2 report, published on 18 March 2026. It prints its position ("Accepted", "Remains under consideration") on a line above each response, and the row carries that line with the response. Read from the Internet Archive's capture, as the Executive Office does not allow automated fetching. The passage covers Northern Ireland only.

Delivery

No statement on delivery from The Executive Office has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.

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.