THE fictional character of Sir Arnold Robinson, the cabinet secretary in Yes Minister, was chatting to Sir Humphrey Appleby about the amount of scrutiny politicians were putting civil servants through.

Sir Arnold lamented: “Appalling! The next thing you will have is politicians removing civil servants on the grounds of incompetence. The thin edge of the wedge, Humphrey!”

Last week, the NI Audit Office (NIAO) outlined a damning report into the leadership of the NI Civil Service (NICS).

It stopped short of saying there was incompetence or recommending the removal of any individual. But the direction of the report is clear.

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The long-promised and much-anticipated reform of the NICS hasn’t happened. It’s grossly inefficient. The costs are spiralling at an eye-popping staffing bill of nearly £1.3bn. (In 2019, it was £870m).

The increase is inexplicable. There are way too many civil servants in Northern Ireland.

© The Irish News