Written question AQW 31081/22-27
Written question by Mr Timothy Gaston on .
- MLA
- Mr Timothy Gaston
- Party at the time
- Traditional Unionist Voice
- Date
- 12 September 2025
- Type
- Written question
- Assembly reference
- AQW 31081/22-27
- Department
- The Executive Office
- Business
- To the First Minister and deputy First Minister
- Assembly identifier
- Document 449191
Read the official Assembly record Open Data source
Text
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister, in light of previous Freedom of Information responses indicating that any decision on the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) participating in events, such as Belfast Pride, requires consultation with both the First Minister and deputy First Minister, why there was no record of a veto or formal objection by the deputy First Minister regarding NICS participation in 2025.
67 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Uncertain
Uncertain: this record is excluded from all totals until a person reviews it.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.52 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.71).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- The answers did not meet either automatic threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.10 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.23 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.12 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.56 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.49 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.52 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.71 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.24 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.05 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.96 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.02 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.01 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 04:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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