2.3  Devolution restored

With devolution restored, there is evidence that the NI Executive is moving away from this macro-economic agenda. The Executive's 2008-11 NI Budget, for example, contested the claim that the Province's public sector is too large and needed to be reduced. However, under current constitutional arrangements, Whitehall maintains strong levers with which to influence policy in NI. For example, the Treasury continues to apply pressure on the Executive to reduce the size of the public sector, and has identified the use of PPP was one important means of doing so.

The Treasury-commissioned 'Varney II' report (2008), for example, states: "One way to increase the value for money of the public sector, and to help stimulate the private sector, is to increase the role of the private sector or third sector in delivering public services" (P.109). Information on the future role of PPP in NI is hard to access due to the lack of detail in the latest Northern Ireland Investment Strategy. However, there is no evidence at the moment that the NI Executive is reviewing the use of PPP.

Figure 4  A chronology of PPP policy development in NI