The Assembly’s Commissioner for Standards investigates complaints against members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) and ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive.

They launched an investigation into Givan’s Israel trip following a number of complaints and questions.

Those included whether Givan had taken the trip in his role as minister or as an MLA, the use of Department of Education resources and public funds, and whether the trip had breached the political impartiality of the civil service.

But the commissioner did not uphold the complaints and found that Givan had not breached the ministerial code by going on the trip to Israel.

MLAs on Stormont’s cross-party Standards Committee had also asked the commissioner to investigate whether Givan had attended the trip as an MLA as “his letter to the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs accepting the invitation was as minister of education and on DE headed paper”.

The committee also queried why officials in the minister’s private office had supported him by “requesting travel options, checking luggage allowance on flights, finalising travel details and relaying itinerary information”.

The committee said that could breach the political impartiality of the civil service.

But the standards commissioner found that Givan had gone to Israel in his capacity as an MLA, and that the work on the trip by departmental officials was “negligible and not inappropriate”.

“Mr Givan, in interview described the visit as a cultural, fact-finding exchange and an opportunity to experience and hear from people,” the commissioner’s report said.

“The press release issued by Mr Givan on the department website contained no political opinion or commentary.”