EUROPEAN competition law presents something of a paradox for local authorities as they attempt to stimulate local economies and generate local employment opportunities. However, as a number of high-profile local authority schemes have shown, there are ways to navigate the legal maze and support the local community while complying with EU principles.
New infrastructure projects by their very nature attract new investment and new jobs to an area. Once in operation, such facilities need to be sustained for 25 years or more, generating long-term employment opportunities. An example is the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) scheme (promoted by Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Councils), which has created many hundreds of construction jobs involving civil engineering, track-work, power systems and signalling specialisms alongside more general building and highways work. About 150 jobs have also been created for the operational phase, including drivers, conductors, maintenance crews and office support staff.
When planning such schemes, local authorities need to pay close attention to the EU legislative framework and the principles underlying the Treaty of Rome which are designed to encourage the free flow of goods, services, labour and capital and prevent discrimination against (in this case) non-UK contractors. Initiatives designed to use local labour or suppliers have the potential to conflict with these treaty principles — hence the paradox. Despite these difficulties, the following approaches have been adopted by local authorities to ensure equality for non-UK firms while addressing important local policy issues: