‘Frank and candid’ ministerial talks on Sinn Féin’s U-turn over puberty blockers will not be made public

The Sunday Independent submitted Freedom of Information (FoI) requests for records relating to the U-turn after Michelle O'Neill, the Sinn Féin First Minister, agreed last month to an ­"urgent decision" process to have the North join a "temporary" ban being extended by the Labour government in Westminster.

Last year Sinn Féin Assembly member Emma Sheerin had called for a legal guarantee that the drugs, which pause puberty in children, could be given to children seeking gender care.

There have been protests on both sides of the border by trans rights activists about the Northern Ireland Executive's decision to join in the ban, which was announced by Mike Nesbitt, the Ulster Unionist minister for health.

The UK government banned their use for children earlier this year following a landmark report by Hilary Cass, the former head of the UK's Royal College of Paediatrics, that found the rationale for their use was "unclear" with ­"remarkably weak" evidence supporting their prescription.

The use of puberty blockers is under review in Ireland by Karl Neff, the HSE's new lead for gender medicine.

Both the Northern Ireland Department of Health and the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister declined to release any records relating to the decision made last month.

The records sought under FoI law included details of any consultations carried out by the executive.

Andrew Scholes, a civil servant in the Executive Secretariat, said the records included correspondence between ministers and minutes of discussion. He wrote that disclosure of the records could increase transparency and help build trust and understanding of how the Executive functions. However, he also said the ministers must be free to have "frank" debates in private.

"Frank and honest debate is a key component of high-quality policy formulation and there is a public interest, in appropriate situations, in maintaining a private space for discussion away from public scrutiny to effectively formulate and develop policy," he said.

"Ministers need to be able to consider difficult policy issues with candour and this would be inhibited by the release of information demonstrating the details of such considerations.

"If ministers were to feel inhibited from being frank and candid with one another because of the possibility of the disclosure of such considerations, the quality of debate supporting the decision-making process would be diminished, ultimately resulting in weaker policy formulation. Government ministers must be able to undertake a full consideration of all of the options and this requires a private space in which to carry out a candid assessment."

We feel it would be inappropriate and misleading to disclose incomplete policy information

Mr Scholes said premature disclosure of advice and assessments "may close off discussion and the development of better policy options" and "undermine frank reporting on progress and the identification of risks".

He said "on balance" it was not in the public interest to release the records sought, adding: "To publish the material at this juncture would be likely to negatively impact the future operation of government at ministerial level through a failure to provide time and space for policies to be formulated and developed in a 'safe space'.

He also said publication of the records could also damage the "collective responsibility" convention that requires all ministers to be bound by the Executive Committee's decisions and carry joint responsibility for government policies.

"The Pledge of Office affirmed by Northern Ireland Ministers upon taking office requires them 'to support, and to act in accordance with all decisions of the Executive Committee and Assembly'," Mr Scholes said. "Prior to such decisions being taken by the Executive Committee, it is however important that ministers are able to express their own views freely, frankly and with candour with their Executive colleagues."

​The Department of Health also ­rejected a request to release its records under FoI, stating that the candour of ministers in having discussion before making a decision will be affected by the release of the records.

It noted that the Northern Ireland ban on puberty blockers was currently in place up to November 26.

The department said it was working with its English counterpart and other devolved administrations to develop proposals for permanent solutions "that ensure prescribing of these medicines is consistent with the recommendations set out in the Cass Review".

"Given this to be the case we consider that the policy is still in development and we feel it would be inappropriate and misleading to disclose incomplete policy information which is still under consideration and still in development as this could have a negative impact on public perception and, subsequently, an adverse effect on the overall policy development process," it said.