Fast Stream Situational Judgement (Public Sector Scenarios) 4

Question 1

You receive a freedom of information request for documents that contain some exempt material and some non-exempt material. What is the correct approach?

Accepted Answer

Release the non-exempt material with exempt sections appropriately redacted

Answer

FOI law requires you to release what you can and exempt only what you must. A blanket refusal because of partial exemptions is unlawful.

Question 2

Your team is required to deliver a new service with a budget that you believe is insufficient. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Flag the concern to your manager with evidence, propose solutions, and document the risk

Answer

Proactive risk escalation with evidence and proposed solutions is the professional approach. Concealing resource concerns is a serious management failure.

Question 3

A colleague asks you to sign off their expenses claim which includes items you believe are not allowable. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Decline to sign and explain which items appear non-allowable, suggesting they check the policy

Answer

Signing off non-allowable expenses exposes you to personal liability and undermines public spending controls. Declining with a clear explanation is professional and fair.

Question 4

You are presenting findings to a senior official and realise mid-presentation that one of your charts contains an error. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Immediately acknowledge the error, correct it verbally, and follow up with accurate data

Answer

Honesty requires immediate acknowledgement. Continuing without disclosure could lead to wrong decisions being made on inaccurate data.

Question 5

A colleague from another team asks if you can share your team's internal working documents to help with their project. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Check whether sharing is permitted under your team's information sharing protocols before deciding

Answer

Information sharing in government is governed by protocols. Checking before sharing protects sensitive information and ensures accountability.

Fast Stream Practice Test

Fast Stream Practice Test

Fast Stream Situational Judgement (Public Sector Scenarios) 4