The Government has announced what it describes as the “biggest wave of insourcing in a generation”, alongside new measures intended to ensure investment by major utilities supports British jobs and apprenticeships.
The package forms part of the Government's wider “rewire the state” programme and includes the creation of a dedicated Insourcing Unit within the Office for Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The unit will examine services currently delivered by private contractors and identify areas where ministers believe bringing work back into the public sector could provide better value or improve delivery.
New Insourcing Unit to review private contracts
The Government says the new unit will drive a significant expansion of insourcing across the public sector.
It will examine outsourced services and support departments considering whether functions should instead be delivered directly by public bodies.
The announcement does not mean that every outsourced Government contract will automatically be terminated or brought back in-house. Decisions will depend on individual services and the Government's assessment of value and public benefit.
Utilities expected to support British jobs
The package also includes new expectations for electricity, gas and water network companies to ensure investment supports jobs and apprenticeships in Britain.
The Government argues that large amounts of investment in regulated infrastructure should deliver wider economic benefits through employment, skills and domestic supply chains.
Further implementation details will determine how the requirements operate in practice and how companies will demonstrate compliance.
Shipbuilding oversight expanded
The National Shipbuilding Office is also being given oversight of all government civil shipbuilding as ministers seek to coordinate public procurement more closely with Britain's industrial strategy.
The Government says this will allow purchasing decisions across departments to be considered alongside objectives including domestic employment, skills and industrial capability.
Government promises to ‘rewire the state’
Ministers are presenting the measures as part of a wider effort to change how the state uses procurement, investment and public-sector delivery to support economic policy.
The Government describes the planned programme as the “biggest wave of insourcing in a generation”, although the eventual scale will depend on which existing contracts and services are ultimately selected to return to direct public-sector delivery.
Not a blanket nationalisation of outsourced services
The distinction is important: the announcement creates a mechanism for significantly expanding insourcing, but it does not amount to an immediate nationalisation of every service currently delivered by private companies.
The confirmed measures include the new Insourcing Unit, stronger expectations around British jobs and apprenticeships from utility investment, and expanded oversight of civil shipbuilding procurement.