Civil Service head cannot override minister blocking officials' evidence

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 4 Nov, 18:58 · Archive

The head of the Civil Service said she cannot override a minister blocking his officials from giving evidence to an Assembly committee.

The head of the Civil Service, Jayne Brady, said she cannot force officials to provide evidence to an Assembly committee after a minister blocked them from doing so. Brady indicated that she lacks the authority to override a minister's decision on whether their officials can appear before the scrutiny panel.

The standoff highlights a tension in Assembly oversight procedures, where ministers can apparently prevent their civil servants from testifying to committees responsible for holding the executive to account.

How it is being reported

• Jayne Brady unable to ‘override’ minister blocking officials giving committee evidenceThe head of the Civil Service has said she has no power to override a minister’s decision to stop his officials giving evidence to their Assembly scrutiny committee.News Letter · 4 Nov, 18:35
• Brady unable to ‘override’ minister blocking officials giving committee evidenceBelfast Telegraph · 4 Nov, 17:20

In this story: Jayne Brady

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log