Rachel Reeves has capitulated to trade union barons and will force the Civil Service to waste a huge amount of money on a wide array of projects. Competition? I hardly knew her…
According to new rules celebrated by the PCS union today, every central government service contract worth over £1 million now triggers a mandatory “Public Interest Test” forcing officials to assess whether the work could be done in-house before any procurement can begin. The Cabinet Office says this captures over 95% of central government spend and will take effect from 1 April 2027…
PCS, Unite, Unison, GMB, the TUC, RMT, UCU, NEU and NASUWT have been campaigning for the “biggest wave of insourcing in a generation.” The guidance says they should be consulted on reducing competition in government…
“Contracting authorities should also take a consultative approach and engage with trade unions, the wider workforce and service end-users to inform their approach… Trade unions are likely to support the Test by providing frontline operational insights and evidence regarding historical employment practices, workforce resilience, and the potential social value impacts of direct delivery.”
One of the headline “benefits” the document lists for bringing work in-house is “secure employment in the public sector,” “higher workforce morale,” expanded “apprenticeship programmes,” and raised “labour standards.” That simply means more unionised public sector jobs...
Departments spending £100 million or more a year on contracts also have to produce five-year “Insourcing Strategies” and publish them. The guidance forces them to consult trade unions directly when drawing these up…
The guidance instructs officials to “avoid undue emphasis on risks or barriers to insourcing.” They are also told value for money should look beyond price to “whole-life costs,” “social value,” and “wider economic and social impacts.“ Terms that make it far easier to justify the more expensive in-house option on grounds other than cost…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”