Debate contribution: Northern Ireland Civil Service: Reform

Debate contribution by Mr John O'Dowd on 3 February 2026.

MLA

Mr John O'Dowd

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

3 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Northern Ireland Civil Service: Reform

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5363189

Read the official Assembly record

Text

In my view, the reporting mechanism is to TEO. We can share the finer details of that with colleagues after the debate. There is also the danger of political interference, so you have to get the balance right in all of those things. I am more than happy to share afterwards any information in relation to accountability mechanisms around the head of the Civil Service. Departments have asked to appoint senior owners and resources to keep the ability to carry the work forward. The Audit Office has said that Departments must produce their strategic workforce plans by March 2028, enabling those to be drawn together for the first Civil Service-wide plan. That creates the structured, system-wide approach to workforce planning that the motion calls for. Put simply, strategic workforce planning is how we move from firefighting to foresight. It helps us identify inefficiencies, eliminate unnecessary agency use and ensure that our workforce pipeline matches the service. A number of Members have questioned the dramatic rise in the number of agency workers. That relates directly to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) contract with the Department for Communities. Members will be aware that DWP has a contract here. Approximately 2,624 of the 4,939 agency staff here work directly to DWP on a contract with the Department for Communities in relation to benefits and other matters. It is not a cost to the block grant. That cost is directly picked up by DWP. My Department is finalising a new workforce model, the Civil Service job families framework, which gives a single, consistent structure for how roles are defined across the Civil Service. That is foundational to Integr8 because the framework is the job architecture captured in the new HR and finance technology solution to be delivered under the Integr8 programme, enabling recruitment, talent, learning and workforce analytics functions to operate effectively. That standardisation will streamline recruitment, reduce duplication and allow more targeted hiring. For staff, it will create clear career pathways, improve transparency and support targeted learning and development, with many of the benefits realised where Integr8 services and technologies are live and job families have become the backbone of how people develop careers in the Civil Service. In relation to Mr Burrows's comments about how people are promoted in the Civil Service, promotion is based on merit and merit alone. In parallel, the professions framework, designed through engagement with heads of profession and other stakeholders, will enforce professional leadership, consistency and standards across the Civil Service. Its accompanying policy and guidance have been prepared, and the framework is anticipated to be launched before the end of 2025-26. My Department is simplifying and streamlining recruitment to get the right people with the right skills into priority teams faster. Apprenticeships; student and work placements, including routes for those furthest from the labour market; Civil Service skills academies; and graduate management programmes are in place. The administrative officers (AO) pilot in the north-west concluded in December with a 12-week process. Almost 900 people were interviewed over three days, leading to more than 200 offers, starting in January 2026. Recruitment of that size and scale has never been done before over such a short period, but that shows what can be achieved with a willingness to embrace new ways of doing things. It is important that civil servants are given the space to be innovative and try new things without facing constant barrages of criticism. In addition, digital requisitions are now in use from March 2027. Outsourced aspects of recruitment will transfer back to NICS to further streamline service delivery. Those steps will enable NICS HR to reduce recruitment time, improve job matching, shorten the time to hire and fill roles promptly, lessening the reliance on agency cover. They widen access support candidates' panels with clear criteria aligned to job families so that pace is matched with fairness. In 2025-26, my Department updated many HR policies. Work was under way on a comprehensive review of the recruitment policy. We are also developing a new employee mobility policy. As part of the people strategy, a two-year road map, we are developing a comprehensive Senior Civil Service strategy. We continue to deliver leadership learning, focusing on inclusive leadership and team effectiveness. Those changes improve effectiveness. We are consulting trade unions on a pay and reward strategic framework. The 2025 pay award has been implemented, including adjustments to allowances.

I have mentioned Integr8 a number of times. It is the enabler that will hardwire reform into daily operations by adopting modern best practice in an integrated HR and finance technology solution. It will reduce cycle times, standardise reporting and improve leaders.

I emphasise our commitment to working closely with our trade union colleagues. Their support for partnership working matters, as does Members' support. We are engaging constructively with Civil Service trade unions across jobs, families, professions and pay and reward policy renewal. We are listening carefully, testing ideas and collaborating, so that change lands well for staff and, ultimately, improves the public services that they deliver. The people strategy is built for outcomes that people can feel: faster recruitment, inter-priority teams, and more continuity in the services on which people rely. A clearer skills pipeline, assured governance and efficiency and effectiveness means standardisation and digitalisation and a reworking of process times. Why is it taking time to do that? Transforming an organisation as large and complex as the Civil Service requires sustained commitment and resourcing. I have outlined the external factors, as have other Members who spoke in the debate. With the people strategy as a road map and Integr8 as the engine, we have the governance, milestones and tools that we need to finish the job transparently, at pace and to standard. Colleagues, I share your frustration, as do civil servants, at the time that it has taken to transform the organisation. As I said, however, I believe that we now have the tools at hand to transform it. Further actions can and will be taken. I am conscious that the PAC has a role to play, but I do not want the momentum on the work that we have carried out so far to lapse as we wait for yet another report on how we should reform the Civil Service. If, as looks likely, the Assembly supports the motion — I am supportive of it — I will do all that I can within my mandate to keep momentum behind transforming our Civil Service and supporting our civil servants.

1,084 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:30 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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