To ask the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail (i) the criteria used to review Contract P3436 (Supply of temporary/short-term workers to NI Civil Service 2011) when her Department twice exercised its annual option to extend the initial two year contract in 2013 and 2014: (ii) the managerial level at which this review was carried out and the decision to extend the contract made.

The Department of Finance and Personnel’s Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) establishes contracts on behalf of NICS Departments and their sponsored bodies. The process for considering extensions to Contract P3436 was as follows:

Consult with NICS Departments and their sponsored bodies to establish if they still require the services and to confirm that the Contractor’s performance is satisfactory.

Confirm that the contract users have sufficient funds available to pay for the service and that a business case has been documented and approved for the extension period.

Issue a letter to Contractors offering an extension and asking the Contractors to confirm if they are willing to accept this offer.

Contracts extended and finance systems updated.

The contract performance was reviewed by a CPD Procurement Manager (Deputy Principal equivalent). The business case and contract extension was approved by the CPD Divisional Director (Grade 5 equivalent).