Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham, Treasury Minister Susie Pinel and Education Minister Jeremy Maçon have all been asked to issue ‘letters of instructions’, which exempt accountable officers from the consequences of ministerial decisions.
Three of the occasions related to extending support to businesses hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, while the fourth pertained to the extension of free nursery education.
The letters are the only four that have been issued since the last general election in May 2018, a response to a written question tabled by Senator Kristina Moore has revealed.
Senator Farnham was forced to write twice, on 14 December and 8 February, to acting director of the economy Richard Corrigan. His first letter was to enact the attractions and events support scheme, while his second authorised the fixed-costs support scheme, both of which provided additional financial aid for struggling businesses.
In both cases Mr Corrigan pointed out ‘risks’ relating to the two schemes. In response, Senator Farnham said that for the attractions and events scheme, the risks were outweighed by the ‘urgent need’ to introduce it while, for the fixed-costs scheme, he pointed out that extra support was needed for businesses which were not eligible for other programmes.
On 29 January, Deputy Pinel was forced to send a letter of instruction to Ian Burns, director general of Customer and Local Services, concerning the introduction of phase four of the co-funded payroll scheme, under which extended staff wage subsidies were given to struggling firms in reaction to the spike in Covid-19 cases.
And on 21 February, Deputy Maçon issued a letter of instruction to Mark Rogers, director general of Children, Young People, Education and Skills, over changes being made to the Nursery Education Fund so that it would provide 30 hours per week – rather than 20 – of government funding for nursery education for the coming school year. He also ordered an increase in the hourly rate of support for registered providers from £5.49 to £6.70.
The Deputy said that risks attached to the move were outweighed by commitments made by his predecessor, Senator Tracey Vallois.
The response to Senator Moore’s question says: ‘Letters of instruction are a procedure under the public finances manual where an accountable officer considers that a course of action requested by the minister responsible for their department’s activity may have implications, specifically for these statutory responsibilities of propriety or regularity; economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
‘In such instances, the accountable officer will write to the minister setting out their concerns. If the minister still wishes to proceed, the accountable officer will request a formal letter of instruction. A copy of this letter must be sent to the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Public Accounts Committee should then be expected to recognise that the accountable officers bear no personal responsibility for the course of action.’
It adds: ‘It is entirely possible for an accountable officer to understand and agree with the need or policy imperative for a particular course of action but still require a letter of instruction because of concerns relating to these narrower responsibilities.’
