At the same time, the Northern Ireland Executive has been dealing with significant budgetary challenges. They’re still deciding on the merits of a request from their Justice Minister Naomi Long to grant money so that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) can pay out settlements after a big data leak. This breach, which occurred in August 2023, inadvertently exposed the personal details of all 9,400 officers and staff within the PSNI.
Long has specifically called on the executive to reserve almost £120 million from the 2026/27 budget. This united funding will allow for a universal offer on claims resulting from this tragic incident. The PSNI has accepted that it is at fault for the data breach. This recognition has catalyzed winning, year-round conversations about making sure the staff who were impacted are compensated. Long stressed the importance of winning these funds for quick resettlement negotiations to be possible. He said, “This will allow for rapid settlements of police officer and staff negotiations to either reach a settlement in the long running court case or avoid incurring hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of further cost to the public.”
Although the case is extremely time-sensitive, negotiations on the settlement have stretched on more than a year. As of now, six of these test cases related to damages are being heard at the High Court. As recently as March 2022, Long indicated that resolutions were forthcoming. She walked back her comments just days later, admitting she had “misspoken.”
The Department of Finance has also made a recommendation to the Northern Ireland Executive that those anticipated costs should be approved. Shadow minister Paul Givan said the topic was shockingly absent from the meeting’s agenda. This was a surprise, not least because minister Emma Little-Pengelly had already passed it unimpeded. He also made clear his frustration on that front. I think it’s really hard to understand and accept that this wasn’t signed on to today,” he added.
Givan immediately calls for a change in procedures as the Treasury has already rejected direct financial help for the compensation claims. These claims are already on track to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds. In her remarks, Givan urged the importance of taking immediate steps. He continued, “There is a process to make sure that happen, and to make sure that formal negotiations can … start early in January.” He stressed that he required permission for a formal pay award to allow these conversations to happen. Sadly, the executive rebuffed this plea at their most recent meeting.
The implications of potentially losing £120 million for public services are profound. Emma Little-Pengelly was more concerned about the fiscal impact of the breach, describing it as “a very expensive mistake.” Long echoed this sentiment, underscoring that Givan needs to be well-prepared before any pay offer can be agreed upon.
Jon Boutcher is a claimants’ champion putting the Home Office’s data breach at the centre of his work. He said he was guardedly optimistic about where the continuing discussions were heading. “Claimants can now have confidence that a settlement process will progress next year following two years of lobbying numerous stakeholders to get to this position,” he stated. He described the settlement as an important step in acknowledging what the breach has meant to people personally.
