Lessons to be Learned from Scotland.

AIDAN QUINN made this Freedom of Information request to Executive Office (Northern Ireland) This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

Waiting for an internal review by Executive Office (Northern Ireland) of their handling of this request.

Dear Executive Office (Northern Ireland),

I have just had some wonderfully satisfactory correspondence with the Scottish Government which has very clear and helpful policies on behaviours, on ethical standards, and on communication. The Scottish Government refrains from referring to staff as Junk and from threatening to defenestrate them. It is a great believer in Communication. It refrains from insulting the spouses of staff and from exploiting vulnerable children. It actually has zero tolerance for these kinds of behavioural patterns. It is open and approachable and has a policy of explaining its decisions both lucidly and speedily. It has zero tolerance of any kind of fraud, hate crime or indeed of unacceptable behaviour of any sort.

Consequently the Scottish Government enjoys very low levels of staff stress and absenteeism, very high levels of staff and public trust. The Scottish Government indeed has a lot to teach us all.

I wondered, for comparison purposes, and as FOI Query, how many explanations for inappropriate, disowned, possibly fraudulent, possibly criminal, career ending Performance Appraisal Reports had been delayed for more than twenty four Years in NICS?
How often have NICS Sacking Parties and Christmas Parties been combined? How often have sacking Reports in NICS been formally described as indefensible by those who had signed them?

Good Luck, I wish you well.

Yours faithfully,

AIDAN QUINN

Dear Executive Office (Northern Ireland),

Hi, I don’t want to be thought to be criticising anybody but I think we all know that this is just taking too long. Events are overtaking us. In the circumstances, can I please ask for an Internal Review?

Good Luck,

I wish you well.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/l...

Yours faithfully,

AIDAN QUINN

Dear Executive Office (Northern Ireland),
I do apologise if I seem to ask rather a lot of Questions but, like all who have been victims of fraud or who have otherwise suffered a loss ( such as loss of health, reputation, career or prospects), it is of course incumbent on me as the victim to do my utmost to try to mitigate the effect of such fraud or the extent of such loss.
I’m sure you understand.

As I seem to recall explaining ( maybe more than once) back in the day when I thought I was being listened to, those who have been victims of fraud have a right to expect to be restored to the position they could reasonably have expected to have enjoyed had the fraud not occurred. We all have to be mindful that the public purse is not bottomless.

Good Luck, as ever I I wish you well.

Yours faithfully,

AIDAN QUINN

Dear Executive Office (Northern Ireland),

Hey I don't like to complain but these are fundamental questions. We all have to have respect for the position of the Scottish Government who, of course, operate to absolutely the highest of ethical and business standards.

How is the Internal Review coming along?

Yours faithfully,

AIDAN QUINN

Dear Executive Office (Northern Ireland),

Hey, we’re a bit overdue. Not to worry, endless delay and expense of all sorts is a quite inevitable aspect of Noting and Filing.

As follow up, I respectfully wondered if there was perhaps a record of it, again respectfully, being pointed out to TEO from any source (Edinburgh perhaps? ICO perhaps?, DOJ?, Cabinet Office?, Silicon Valley?, Strasbourg? DoF? Capita? )that, if it really, really, really was found culturally necessary for TEO to promise to, to commit to, Note and File someone in perpetuity then TEO did have a responsibility to at least do so professionally, fully, accurately and, crucially to retain all the vast volumes of Notes, Files ,Records created and other Work done for however long it took to have matters finally resolved?

This obviously is neither efficient nor cheap but, as DoF Pensions Branch has demonstrated, even at the cost of blocked corridors, it is the professional, the decent, the respectable, the Only thing to do.

The costs (in all kinds of ways), the stasis, the ill health, the utter pointlessness of perpetual Noting and Filing is, with respect, the very reason why Investors absolutely shun countries where perpetual Noting and Filing is formal, unanimously officially Imposed, endlessly Officially endorsed, Government Policy.

As you know, were my own application for the Permanent Head of Service post to be successful, then traditional, old style, official Note and File Only policies would be gone, decommissioned, set aside, in the morning. We would draw a line under them, settle our bills, and move on, following the example set by DoF Pensions under its wonderful new Accounting Officer.

Good Luck, I wish you well.

Yours faithfully,

AIDAN QUINN

Dear Executive Office (Northern Ireland),

Hey, we’re a bit overdue. Inevitable really, nobody in any way judges the wonderful salt-of-the-earth staff involved, everywhere very much seen as victims too.

Nobody likes to mention these things, but Leaders have to. Such mention can be taken the wrong way.

Nevertheless we all know that when ongoing live RHI Inquiry processes are, (as they are meant to be hence the live internet feed ) being discussed (and we can all be sure that they are, endlessly), by business analysts, in Investment Houses, in Broker Research pieces, indeed in the international business press, or by well-wishers trying to understand N Ireland and its governance some of the key, frequently mentioned features emerging are the absolutely appalling amount of unconsidered paperwork, the appalling delays, the appalling ignoring of evidence ,advice, reason, ,standards, and people alike, the appalling lack of leadership, appalling unwillingness to make any decisions or take any action, any at all really, just to let things for ever drift.

I wondered as follow up Query then if there was perhaps a record of a proposal having been made to address these issues now, immediately, at once and as a matter or priority rather than waiting a few more years until, like Chilcott, the eventual Findings are published.

This is what Leaders are expected to do and , it is no secret is if successful in any upcoming competitions, what I would do myself.

Good Luck. I wish you well. You're worth it.

Yours faithfully,

AIDAN QUINN