Stormont under fire over value for money in obtaining public goods and services

Arrangements to provide leadership, governance and accountability are not working effectively, Comptroller and Auditor General Dorinnia Carville concluded.

Public procurement – the obtaining of goods and services – consumes around 25% of the Northern Ireland budget.

The Procurement Board is responsible for ensuring that activity is carried out effectively and delivers value for money.

The report identifies several key structural weaknesses in current arrangements.

It highlighted the “lack of an overarching strategy” to coordinate procurement activity, as well as a lack of staff with the appropriate capacity and capability to effectively manage this activity.

The report also said there was an absence of high-quality and timely data, which has undermined governance and transparency, limiting meaningful oversight of the performance of public bodies involved in procurement.

The report said: “Without effective performance monitoring and in the absence of appropriate data, the board is incapable of demonstrating that the Northern Ireland procurement function represents value for money.

“Consequently, it remains open to the perceptions of widespread failure that have bedevilled it for many years.

“Without fundamental changes to culture and structures, as well as to processes, this is likely to continue.”

The report said that recent action taken by the board has improved how procurement works.

Ms Carville said: “It is important to recognise that the Northern Ireland public sector delivers many successful procurements – practitioners are often frustrated by what they consider blanket characterisations of how public procurement is managed and delivered.

“At the same time, repeated criticisms, particularly in relation to large-scale construction and IT projects, do demonstrate that the public procurement function remains vulnerable to these negative perceptions of widespread failure and financial waste.

“While my report does highlight examples of recent progress, strategic weaknesses in procurement arrangements remain.

“Until these are addressed, the fundamental changes to culture, structures and processes that are needed will not be achieved.”

The report made four recommendations:

• The Department of Finance should commission a fundamental review to ensure that arrangements support effective strategy setting, policy development, governance and accountability for procurement.

• The department, in consultation with procurement practitioners, should develop a new strategy to underpin how procurement functions in Northern Ireland.

• The department and/or the Procurement Board should develop the strategic oversight of capacity and capability.

• The board should establish arrangements to ensure that all bodies provide complete, accurate and timely procurement data to enable effective oversight of public procurement activity.

A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said: “The department welcomes the NI Audit Office's report and its recognition of the progress made in delivering and implementing significant new policies relating to social value and supply chain security alongside improvements to the way in which policy and guidance is disseminated to, and used by, public bodies.

“Public procurement is a key enabler to deliver economic, environmental and social considerations through public spending.

“At a time of financial constraints having the right strategy, leadership, governance and accountability for our procurement functions is of critical importance.

“Establishing the right structures and governance will require accurate and timely data, which the report has highlighted as an issue.

“The department will work with Northern Ireland Civil Service departments to review the recommendations and how these can be taken forward.”