- Conference
- 2025 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 1 January 2025
- Decision
- Carried
Conference welcomes the government’s commitment to bring about the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation and notes the wide range of outsourcing and procurement related measures included in the Labour Party document Make Work Pay: Delivering the New Deal for Working People. These include commitments to:
1) End the Tories’ ideological drive to privatise public services;
2) Extend the Freedom of Information Act to apply to private companies that hold contracts to provide public services;
3) Require public bodies to undertake a public interest test before outsourcing and when contracts come up for renewal to better consider the in-house option;
4) Reinstate and strengthen the last Labour government’s two tier code to end unfair two-tiered workforces;
5) Ensure that the two-tier code and the public interest test apply to wholly owned subsidiary companies.
Conference agrees that for many UNISON members, the introduction of these measures is a matter of urgency.
In the last couple of years, there is a growing tendency toward insourcing across much of the public sector. This is being driven by an increasing awareness of the value of public services in supporting local economies and businesses, providing better services for residents and business and directing resources more cohesively to where they are needed.
Within UNISON, we continue to make the case that insourcing services is a better option. The provision of high quality public services is essential to the well-being of our society in the United Kingdom. Under the Tory government, the outsourcing of public services to private companies became widespread, and most have not provided better value. The mantra under the previous Tory government claimed that outsourcing would improve efficiency, yet evidence has found that privatised services often lead to reduced quality, higher costs and reduced terms and conditions of workers and union members. In contrast, insourcing – the practice of bringing services back in-house under direct public sector control – has demonstrated that it is better for the following reasons:
a) Is cheaper in the long run and is better able to deliver efficiencies;
b) Gives greater scope to improve performance against benchmarked services;
c) Delivers greater flexibility and integration with existing services;
d) Provides better and more secure employment and leads to stronger local supply chains;
e) Are more democratically accountable, transparent and enhances local control of service delivery.
Conference applauds the hundreds of UNISON members in East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust who took industrial action as part of a legitimate trade dispute over failure to agree to UNISON’s demands that they remain employed by the Trust.
Given the Labour manifesto commitments to insourcing, conference is disturbed by the call from the Chief Executive of NHS England to NHS Trusts to outsource swathes of functions to subsidiary companies (subcos) in order to make financial savings. This is despite savings through this model only coming through diluting pay and conditions and avoiding tax – which just means there is less funding available for the NHS anyway. This is why NHS England guidelines have actually restricted the use of these companies, as a result of UNISON campaigning.
For members who provide vitally important cleaning, catering, portering, security and maintenance roles right across public services, outsourcing means an unrelenting deterioration in terms and conditions. For public finances and service users it invariably leads to profit extraction and poorer services.
Conference notes that the Employment Rights Bill includes the first instalment of the Make Work Pay reforms. This includes the power for the minister to create a statutory code to prevent the emergence of a ‘two tier workforce’ when outsourcing occurs.
Whilst this is a welcome downpayment, conference agrees that problems encountered under the previous two-tier code (including poor enforcement and employers redesigning jobs to evade the code) are addressed as the regulations and code are finalised over coming months. It will also be important to think through the need for sector level considerations – how the code might need to be adapted in different parts of public services.
However, Conference also agrees that whilst the two tier code is important, the priority has to be preventing further outsourcing and bringing services back in house.
To these ends Conference calls on the National Executive Council to intensify the Bringing Services Home campaign. This should include:
i) Working with the political fund to keep up the pressure on government to ensure that the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation can be delivered as a priority;
ii) Engaging with the policy development process so that the measures proposed by the government included within Make Work Pay are fit for purpose. This should include providing case studies, demonstrating the situation faced by outsourced workers;
iii) Making support available to service groups during the development of sector specific policy, guidance and interpretation of the Code and other measures instrumental to decisions about service provision;
iv) Working through appropriate channels within the UK government, devolved nations, and mayoral authorities to enable approaches to public service procurement that maximise direct employment;
v) Keeping up the pressure on employers with contracts coming up for renewal, or contemplating further outsourcing, urging upon them the need to recognise the direction of travel;
vi) Supporting branches by providing updated information about the new measures that can be used to support local insourcing campaigns;
vii) Discussing with National Labour Link committee how best to ensure the Labour government delivers on its manifesto pledges regarding outsourcing;
viii) Work with the Health Service Group Executive to support their campaign against subcos, developing evidence of the negative impact on the NHS and supporting local organising campaigns to prevent transfer of NHS staff to subcos and for the insourcing of staff already within these companies.
We need to campaign for more insourcing as it provides the best model for the delivery of public services in the UK for the following reasons:
A) Improved Service Quality: Public services that are insourced tend to offer higher quality because they are directly managed and monitored by public sector employees who are committed to the well-being of the community. Insourced services focus on the needs of service users over profit maximisation, resulting in better outcomes;
B) Enhanced Accountability: When services are insourced, there is greater transparency and accountability as public sector workers are directly accountable to elected officials and the public. This reduces the opportunity for private contractors to cut corners or prioritise profits over service delivery;
C) Cost-Effectiveness: While private companies may claim to offer cheaper services through outsourcing, the hidden costs – including profit margins, management fees, and inefficiencies – often make these contracts more expensive in the long run. Insourcing can lead to greater financial efficiency as funds are directed to public services rather than private profits;
D) Better Working Conditions: Insourcing gives better job security and better working conditions for public sector employees. By ensuring decent pay and terms of employment, public services can attract a dedicated and motivated workforce, leading to higher service standards and employee satisfaction;
E) Long-Term Sustainability: Public services that are insourced are more likely to be sustainable over the long term because the priorities of the service are aligned with the public good rather than the financial interests of private contractors. This creates a more stable and reliable service model that is less susceptible to market fluctuations or short-term profit pressures.
We note with concern that local authorities, some under Labour control, faced with substantial financial pressures are looking at outsourcing of essential services as a way of reducing expenditure.
Unions and the community have a critical role to play in advocating for insourcing and holding the government accountable for the quality of public services. Together, we can ensure that public services are run in the best interests of society, with a focus on quality, accountability, fairness, and long-term sustainability.
By bringing services back under public control, we can build a more just, equitable, and efficient system that serves the needs of all citizens.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
I) Promote the UNISON insourcing guide and continue to campaign for more insourcing: to raise awareness of the benefits of insourcing by providing the public with clear information on how insourcing improves service quality, accountability and cost-effectiveness;
II) Advocate for policy change with MPs and politicians;
III) Support for workers campaigning for their service to insourced back into the public sector;
IV) Develop model motions for branches to cascade to local councils;
V) To develop tools to help branches evaluate how insourcing can be used to support local economies and the environment, through jobs, skills, supply chain management and local spend.