Public Sector: Procurement
The question
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the written statement of 17 June 2026, HCWS120, on Update of Insourcing, what the baseline level of outsourcing across departments is; and what estimate he has made of changes to administrative and running costs from increased insourcing.
Answered by Chris Ward
This Labour Government is committed to delivering the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation, ending outsourcing by default.
On 17 June, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and I introduced a new Public Interest Test. From April 2027, departments will assess whether a service can be better delivered in-house before any outsourcing decision is made. This will apply to service contracts of £1 million and above with some limited exceptions for specific types of contracts. Departments will also publish insourcing strategies setting out their medium term plans to deliver services in-house.
It is for contracting authorities to assess the value for money case for insourcing specific services on a case by case basis.
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