Taxpayers’ £95bn to private firms

Outsourcing up 53% despite collapse of Carillion

PRIVATE firms were handed at least £95billion worth of public sector work last year.

Figures show the value of taxpayer-funded contracts given to outsourcing companies leapt by 53%. The surge emerged a year to the day since outsourcing giant Carillion’s collapse.

Debt-laden Carillion’s plunge into liquidation triggered thousands of job losses and left the taxpayer with a £150million bill.

Researchers from the GMB union looked at contracts awarded for providing services to the public sector – including central and local government and stretching from education to the NHS – in the last financial year.

The figure for the lifetime of those deals was £95bn, up from £62bn awarded in 2016/17. Capita won contracts worth almost £1.4bn in 2017/18, despite issuing a profit warning.

Rival Interserve, which put out two profit warnings, netted £450m worth of public contracts.

The GMB has launched a Go Public campaign calling for an end to outsourcing and privatisation in public services and for a better deal for the taxpayer. Rehana Azam, GMB National Secretary, said: “What this shows is, despite the tragic fiasco of Carillion, the Government hasn’t learned its lesson. The Conservatives are hell bent on privatisation and outsourcing our public services, regardless of the consequences.”

Carillion went into liquidation with £7bn of liabilities and just £29million left in the bank.

The Unite union has stepped up calls for a criminal investigation into its collapse. Several former Carillion fat cats walked away with bumper pay-offs.