§ Mr. SillarsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the total value to the latest available full year of public sector contracts in Northern Ireland of a character which will make them open to Communitywide bidding as part of the creation of the internal market.
§ Mr. Ian StewartThe cost of assessing the value of public sector contracts in Northern Ireland to be opened to Community-wide bidding would not be justified. The EC is currently investigating the effects of applying procurement rules to contracts above various value thresholds in sectors excluded from existing Community directives.