TUV leader Jim Allister and DSD committee member at Stormont has hit out at the payment of a ‘Neighbourhood Renewal’ grant of £350,000 by DSD to Lurgan Golf Club. However, Jim Allister has also discovered that a member of the club, who is a senior official in DSD, was involved in processing the application, but failed to disclose his interest, contrary to departmental guidance on conflicts of interest.
In response to an Assembly Question from the TUV leader the DSD minister has confirmed that the civil servant involved did indeed fail to declare his interest.
Commenting Jim Allister said, “The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund exists, surely, to regenerate and help deprived areas, not to build facilities for private member golf clubs? Bad enough that at a time when the Executive is broke, £350,000 is directed to providing new facilities for a private members club, but, to discover that a member of that club was involved, as an official in the grant-aiding government department, in processing the application, then, there is even more to be explained by the minister about this project.
“The minister has confirmed to me that the official failed to declare his interest. But, what happens now, will discipline follow and what if it turns out the funding, which has already been paid out, should never have been granted? And, just how prevalent is it within funding departments that relevant declarations of interest are not being declared?
“I am following up the issue with this further Question to the minister:-
“a) What exactly was the role of the official involved in the Lurgan Golf Club Neighbourhood Renewal Project who failed to declare a conflict of interest, what was the nature of the conflict of interest and what disciplinary action under the Northern Ireland Civil Service Code of Ethics has been taken as result of the discovery of the conflict of interest and the failure to declare it; and
“(b) how many conflicts of interested have been declared subsequent to the issue of the reminder to staff about the need for such declarations.”
Below is the original Q from Mr Allister which brought the matter to light:-
Subject: Written Answer AQW 38301/11-15 – Lurgan Golf Club Neighbourhood Renewal Grant
Question:
To ask the Minister for Social Development whether a conflict of interest was declared by any departmental official dealing with the Lurgan Golf Club Neighbourhood Renewal Grant application.
Answer:
No. My Department recently learned that an official who was involved in the project did not declare a conflict of interest in this case. Staff have been reminded of the need to comply with guidance on declaring potential conflicts of interest and this issue is being dealt with through the normal HR processes.
Whilst the decision to approve funding was made by an independent panel an investigation of the project file is underway to ensure that the application for funding has been fully and properly assessed. This review will be independently verified by the Department’s Internal Audit Unit to ensure that all funding decisions were in order.