Policy Copying and Public Sector Reform in Northern Ireland

Policy copying or transfer has been identified as a significant feature of the operation of devolution in Scotland and Wales. Little attention has been paid to policy copying in relation to the system of devolution in Northern Ireland, particularly since 1999. One of the most important areas of change and policy implementation has been public sector reform. This paper examines the three main areas of public sector reform: the civil service, local government and the large quango/public bodies sector. Northern Ireland is compared to England, Scotland and Wales to identify examples of policy copying in changes to public sector governance. Following this analysis a number of factors which have determined the extent of policy copying are discussed. These include; a weak policy-making capacity, the dominance of managerialist and technocratic approaches, priority for cost-cutting measures and a lack of consensus on reform among the political parties along with the operation of veto mechanisms. The paper concludes by noting that Northern Ireland has not adopted some of the policies and changes introduced in Scotland and Wales in relation to the public sector even though these may have improved the operation of devolved governance.