Head of NI Civil Service warned over involvement

The head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) was warned it would be “open to the charge of acting politically” by taking part in Belfast Pride.

Jayne Brady was told by a senior adviser there would be “criticism for any decision the NICS takes”, according to internal emails.

Staff are due to participate in the LGBT parade on Saturday, but its involvement has been questioned by some politicians over impartiality concerns.

The NICS has said it is “committed to being an inclusive employer”.

In March, Belfast Pride decided to exclude Stormont executive parties from the summer parade for supporting a ban on puberty blockers for under 18s.

Puberty blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty happening and have sometimes been prescribed to children questioning their gender.

The move by Belfast Pride led to a clash of opinions behind the scenes among senior NICS staff over how to respond, according to emails released through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

In one email, Ms Brady was told there would be “significant interest to the media and you will be the focus of the story”.

“It is fair to assume that there will be criticism for any decision the NICS takes,” the correspondence from a senior communications adviser added.

The message said that “attending the parade leaves the NICS and you open to the charge of acting politically”.

But it added that “not attending also leaves you open to the charge that we are not living up to our commitments to be a fair and equitable employer”.

Ms Brady was advised that “there should be engagement at a political level before a final decision is taken” on a press statement.

In separate emails, the Executive Office official advised having a “conversation with FMdFM (first minister and deputy first minister) and the finance minister” before finalising a statement.

The official drafted a “holding line” which said the NICS would have internal discussions before making a decision on this year’s Pride parade.

But a senior Department of Finance (DoF) official responded: “For a number of reasons I don’t think we should say that.”

The official added that NICS participation “as an employer” was “different to political attendance”.

A note of a meeting in June said the finance minister – Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd, whose department has responsibility for civil service matters – was “content for NICS to retain a presence at Pride”.

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) criticised the continued involvement of NICS in the parade.

The party’s equality spokesperson Ann McClure said the NICS was “fully aware of the political sensitivities” but “pressed ahead regardless”.

She questioned whether deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly, of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), was consulted.

In a statement the DUP said that NICS participation was “a decision for the head of the NI Civil Service, not ministers”.

“Public sector organisations should not be involved in political campaigns,” a party spokesman added.

The Executive Office and Department of Finance have been approached for comment.

In a previous statement, the DoF said the NICS was “committed to being an inclusive employer”.

It said the “Civil Service LGBTQ+ Staff Network has participated in the Belfast Pride parade since 2018”.

“The network plans to participate in the Pride parade as it has done since then,” it added.

The NICS is one of Northern Ireland’s largest employers with around 24,000 staff.

The Belfast Pride parade is the main event in the city’s annual LGBT festival, which involves more than 150 events across 10 days.