AQW 27316/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 19/05/2025
Answered On Date: 21/05/2025
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for an update on what he is doing to provide more flexibility for schools to make purchases of equipment and materials when they can secure better value than Education Authority approved suppliers.

Answer:

As the managing authority for controlled schools, the funding authority for all grant-aided schools and the Centre of Procurement Excellence (CoPE) for education, the Education Authority (EA) is responsible for ensuring that effective procurement practice is embedded across the education sector.

All schools are required to operate within the procurement legal framework and adhere to Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy and all relevant Northern Ireland Procurement Policy Notes (PPNs).

Notwithstanding, I share the concerns of our school stakeholders in relation to procurement processes and the benefit of offering our schools greater flexibility and reduced bureaucracy in this area.

It is important to note that the EA, as education’s CoPE, conducts thorough consultations with schools before establishing contracts. In addition, schools can procure goods and services directly from suppliers for lower-value purchases, in accordance with PPN 04/21.

The recent revision of PPN 04/21 Procurement Control Limits in March 2025 increased the thresholds which determine the procurement processes for lower value purchases which all contracting authorities, including schools, must follow. The threshold at which a contracting authority must evidence two price checks has increased from £5,000 to £10,000.

Given this update to PPN 04/21, I have recently instructed the EA to increase the schools’ procurement control limit to £10,000 for purchases which require two evidenced price checks. This change will provide schools with more flexibility for those procurements below £10,000 and which are not already available through an existing framework. This change has been communicated to schools via numerous EA channels including C2K and the EA Procurement portal.

In addition to this change, I have instructed my officials to engage with the EA to explore further options available specifically in relation to schools’ use of frameworks. The EA is exploring options for providing schools with greater flexibility in this area of spend, including an assessment of the potential benefits, risks and impact of any changes which may be considered or piloted.