Jeremy Corbyn, pictured, wants to prevent the government and local authorities from contracting out work – with the public sector legally obligated to prepare an in-house bid
Jeremy Corbyn has said that Labour would radically shake-up outsourcing rules in a bid to stop ‘middlemen creaming off the profits’.
He wants to prevent the government and local authorities from contracting out work – with the public sector legally obligated to prepare an in-house bid.
The Labour leader’s intervention comes after the collapse of outsourcing giant Carillion and a National Audit Office report showing taxpayers face a £199 billion bill for schemes under the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI).
Mr Corbyn told the Guardian: ‘We will rewrite the rules to give the public back control of their services.
‘Theresa May exposed the failure of the outsource-first ideology at Prime Minister’s Questions when she said the government was ‘a customer’ not ‘the manager’ of Carillion.
‘I’m sorry, but if these are public contracts we should be the manager and not have a middleman like Carillion creaming off the profits.’
Labour’s plans would also see freedom of information laws and transparency rules extended to private companies if they were running public services.
A new public value contracts commissioner would also ensure that contracts were awarded on the basis of public value rather than to the company which charged the least.
A full public consultation would also have to be held on every outsourcing decision.
Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn dismissed anonymous Labour frontbench briefings that his age would become an issue by the next general election.
The Labour leader’s intervention comes after the collapse of outsourcing giant Carillion (stock photo)
The 68-year-old said: ‘I am the age I am. It is not a secret, and I consider myself perfectly fit and able to do what I do. I’m actually younger than other leaders.’
Earlier, Mr Corbyn described Government claims of record NHS funding levels as a ‘fake news agenda’.
After a visit to Lincoln County Hospital, he said: ‘To misquote Donald Trump, that is a fake news agenda.
‘The NHS is stretched beyond belief because of its lack of resources.
‘The Prime Minister told Parliament ‘We are better prepared than ever for the winter crisis’.
‘Two weeks later … we see the reality of it, which is patients being treated in hospital car parks and ambulances.’