Civil Service 'will learn' from whistleblower vet tribunal review

The NI Civil Service has said it is committed to learning from a review of how officials dealt with concerns raised in an industrial tribunal.

Dr Tamara Bronckaers is a whistleblower vet who worked for the Department of Agriculture and Environment.

Her concerns on animal welfare and the deletion of cattle movements at some livestock markets were not acted on.

An industrial tribunal in 2021 found Dr Bronckaers had been constructively dismissed.

She later received a £1.25m settlement from the department, along with an unreserved apology.

An external independent review was then ordered by the civil service into the handling of the case.

On Wednesday, Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), said it had published a 33-point action plan in response to the review.

She said it would implement each of the actions to ensure there was “greater confidence that we are delivering the best possible service for the public and our workforce”.

She said the review by PWC, which was published earlier this month, “highlights issues in the recording and escalating of concerns, the application of some policies and the way in which employment-related legal cases are managed by the NICS”.

A new NICS Raising a Concern Policy Framework has also been published.

She said these guidelines for departments “set out, for the first time, a single, overarching approach to dealing with concerns raised”.

“Concerns must always be raised, listened to and acted upon in the proper manner,” Ms Brady added.

“It is critical that every civil servant maintains proper records and that all policies are up-to-date. These are the foundations of good governance.”