AQW 37787/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 08/01/2026
Answered On Date: 29/01/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail any guidance or protocols on conflicts of interest, that apply to Ministers when participating in Executive discussions, or decisions, affecting a public body where a close family member holds a senior leadership role, including (i) how declarations of interest and any recusals are (a) recorded; and (b) made available; and (ii) when this guidance was last reviewed or updated.

Answer:

The Ministerial Code of Conduct requires Ministers to “ensure that no conflict arises, or could be reasonably perceived to arise, between Ministers’ public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise, and comply with rules concerning conflicts of interest.”

Ministers are required to make a full declaration of all interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict. The Department of Finance collates and publishes this Register of Ministers’ Interests.