Northern Ireland Protocol and Stormont: Decisions made by civil servants in charge of Stormont departments published

The newly published bulletin shows that in December decisions were taken around making a formal pay offer to the civil service, the extension of a free travel scheme for Ukrainian refugees and over the release of a prisoner who was nearing death.

The Stormont powersharing institutions collapsed last year when the DUP withdrew support as part of its protest against the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.

Civil servants were left in control of government departments after ministers left office at the end of October when a deadline to restore the executive passed.

In December, Mr Heaton-Harris published guidance about the exercise of departmental functions by civil servants during the absence of ministers.

In a letter to Northern Ireland MPs, the Northern Ireland Secretary said he was publishing a monthly report of decisions taken by civil servants in the public interest.

The letter, seen by the PA news agency said: “These reports provide transparency about the decisions being taken by civil servants and are important from an accountability perspective.

“I sincerely hope that we will soon see a functioning Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly in place, taking decisions on the issues that matter most to the people of Northern Ireland.”

The first published bulletin details decisions taken by senior Stormont civil servants during December.

The bulletin said a decision was taken on December 7 to determine public sector pay policy for 2022/23.

It said this would “allow for pay awards to be progressed and effective management of the budgetary implications by departments”.

It said that the decision required “departments to ensure that awards are affordable in the context of each department’s 2022/23 budget settlement”.

The bulletin also said a decision was taken to make a formal pay offer to the civil service.

It said: “This offer is now a matter of public record.

“The pay offer has been issued to unions and is under consideration.”

In the Department of Infrastructure, the bulletin said a decision was taken to extend the onward free travel scheme for Ukrainian refugees for six months until the end of June.

It stated: “The travel scheme provides free onward travel for Ukrainian refugees on Translink bus and rail services, including cross-border services, from their port of arrival in Ireland to their final destination in NI.”

The bulletin said that in the Department of Justice a “decision was made to release a prisoner on compassionate grounds as he was nearing death and required a level of intensive case that could not be delivered in a prison environment”.

The information was published the same day that a Supreme Court judgment affirmed the lawfulness of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said the decision highlights why solutions to the contentious trading arrangements must be found by Government.

The UK’s highest court today dismissed a challenge from a group of unionists and Brexiteers who claimed the protocol breached the Acts of Union and the Northern Ireland Act.