Contract compliance: subnational and European influences in Northern Ireland

Abstract

This paper focuses on the use of contract compliance in Northern Ireland (NI) — the use of public sector contracts to pursue wider social and economic policy goals. Such goals may include equal opportunities (gender, race, religion, disability), employment rights (part-time workers, transfer of undertakings), development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or employment creation (for example, the long-term unemployed). Public procurement policy in Northern Ireland is undergoing review, including assessing the impact of equality legislation on government procurement. The question that the paper poses is: to what extent do subnational, national, regional (i.e. European Union) and global laws and policies on public procurement hinder or enhance the likelihood of an effective contract compliance regime in Northern Ireland?

Cet article se centre sur l'utilisation des obligations contenues dans les contrats en Irlande du Nord c'est-à-dire l'utilisation des contrats de marché public pour poursuivre des objectifs sociaux et de politique économique plus large. De tels objectifs peuvent couvrir l'égalité des chances (genre, race, religion, handicap), des droits liés à l'emploi (travailleurs à temps partiel, transfert d'entreprise), le développement des PME ou la création d'emplois (par exemple, les chômeurs de longue durée). La politique des marchés publics en Irlande du Nord connaît des modifications significatives. Une partie de ce processus consiste à évaluer l'impact en terme d'égalité sur les marchés publics gouvernementaux. L'article pose la question suivante: de quelle manière les lois sub-nationales, nationales, régionales (lire l'Union européenne) et globales et les politiques en matière de marchés publics gênent ou renforcent le régime d'obligations contenues dans les contrats en Irlande du Nord.?

Keywords

Agreement on Government Procurement (AGP)contract compliance European procurement policy public procurement

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