Letter: DUP is calling for much needed reform of the Northern Ireland Civil Service as it must deliver better value for money

This motion isn’t about criticising the men and women who make up our civil service. Many civil servants display a dedication and commitment to their work that I greatly respect.

As we witnessed this past week in the face of widespread flooding, many on the frontline deliver vital services in challenging circumstances and with limited resources.

It is unfair that those on the frontline, doing their best, are facing public hostility because of the mismanagement of services at a much higher level in the NICS,

Accepting that many work hard does not however take away our responsibility to ensure that the system itself is fit for purpose.

The recent Northern Ireland Audit Office report sets out a plethora of serious concerns. It highlights weak workforce planning, a growing over-reliance on temporary and agency staff, rising costs, and a lack of strategic clarity about what skills are needed to deliver public services effectively.

The report shows that as of April 2025, almost 5,000 agency workers were employed across the NICS, more than double the number in 2019, at a cost now exceeding an eye watering £500 million. The system is not delivering best value for money.

When it comes to delivering effective public services, every pound matters. Money spent inefficiently or wasted completely is money not available for frontline services, infrastructure investment, or supporting the most vulnerable.

The Audit Office also highlights persistent high levels of sickness absence, costing £48.8 million in 2024–25, with an average of 13.4 working days lost per staff year, up from 12.6 days in 2018–19.

The DUP believes in making Northern Ireland work but that means a civil service that is properly staffed and focused on outcomes, not just processes. That means having the right people, with the right skills, in the right roles to match those skills. That is common sense.

The ethos must be one engrained in delivering high-quality public services and real value for money. It also means reducing dependency on agency staffing, improving long-term workforce planning, and ensuring leadership is equipped and passionate about driving reform rather than managing decline.

Our motion calls on the minister of finance to bring forward a time-bound plan to address these issues. Any plan must be measurable and, most importantly, accountable.

This is about making Northern Ireland work better. It is about ensuring our infrastructure and public services are resilient, efficient and capable of meeting future challenges. It is about embracing new ideas, modern ways of working and a culture that rewards innovation, initiative, outcomes and responsibility.

The executive cannot keep recycling the same approaches and then complain when the outcomes do not improve. This is critical when planning strategically for a multiyear budget.

We cannot continue to roll forward what has always been without stripping it back, reforming it and realigning to ensure delivery of efficient, high quality public services are delivering the best way possible.

Diane Forsythe, South Down MLA