Protecting public services

What is happening

Public services provided in-house by directly employed staff result in better services for the public. The staff who provide the services receive better terms and conditions which then has a positive influence on the local economy. Unfortunately recent decades have seen services head in the opposite direction – with ever more services being outsourced to the private sector and in some cases, the community and voluntary sector. This has had negative impacts. When private companies deliver public service contracts they extract profits from tax-payer money and drive down terms and conditions of the workforce. Services become less transparent and accountable to the local community.

Outsourcing

Despite UNISON campaigns against outsourcing services and for changes to procurement policies to support in-house provision, many are still outsourced. Public sector contracts for soft facilities management services (such as cleaning, catering, security, portering and laundry services) and waste management are often awarded to large private sector companies. In 2025 there were 20,539 contracts let with a value of £60.9bn.

Wholly owned subsidiaries

In addition, public service providers continue to set up wholly owned subsidiaries. This is a form of outsourcing whereby, for example, NHS trusts or local authorities set up separate bodies to perform part of a public service previously delivered by them directly. In the NHS these are called subsidiary companies (subcos), in local government they are local authority trading companies. Although staff who transfer across have some protections, those working for wholly owned subsidiaries are removed from the nationally agreed terms and conditions. Pay and pensions are invariably eroded.

What UNISON is doing

UNISON branches actively campaign against services being outsourced in the first place and for outsourced services to be brought back in-house. The union also campaigns for changes to procurement policies to support in-house provision of services.

Employment Rights Act 

UNISON worked to ensure that the new Employment Rights Act includes provision for two-tier regulations and a new code of practice. We continue to respond to consultations as the regulations are developed. The objective of the regulations is to ensure that contracting authorities and contractors are not able to use outsourcing to make savings through reducing the terms and conditions of the workforce. 

Public interest test

UNISON is also fully engaged around the introduction of a public interest test. This is a policy proposal developed by UNISON that would require contracting authorities to consider the impact of outsourcing on services, the workforce, the local and national economy and wider economic and social policy objectives. Contracting authorities will be required to undertake the test before outsourcing and when contracts come up for renewal. The government is committed to the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation and sees the public interest test as a way of achieving it.

Campaigns

UNISON continues to run its Bringing Services Home campaign and to provide negotiating and bargaining materials to support branches fighting outsourcing and campaigning to insource services.