1 September 2026
RMT Press Office:
The government must deliver on its election pledge to oversee ‘the biggest wave of insourcing for a generation’.
Prime Minister must tackle outsourcing 'scourge' as spending on private contracts soars, say unions
The government must deliver on its election pledge to oversee ‘the biggest wave of insourcing for a generation’ as new analysis shows spending on private contractors for some key public services has doubled since Labour took power, unions say today (Tuesday).
Research by UNISON and RMT found the value of outsourced contracts awarded or renewed for 'soft facilities' management, including cleaning, catering and security, reached £6.2bn in 2025*.
That is up from £3.5bn for 2024 when the Labour government came to power and the figure for 2026 has already hit £6.6bn so far, the unions say.
The findings are published as UNISON and RMT today launch Insource Now!, a joint campaign calling for more public services to be brought back in-house rather than given to for-profit firms.
UNISON and RMT believe the figures collected so far are just the tip the iceberg, indicating the outsourcing of public sector contracts is still widespread in areas such as health, local government and transport.
The two unions say outsourcing often results in a race to the bottom as firms try to deliver services for less and maximise profits. This means already low-paid workers are often exploited with unfair wages, while services get worse and the public gets less value for money.
Prior to the 2024 general election, Labour made a manifesto commitment to bring about the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation, and in June ministers declared 'the age of outsourcing is over'. But UNISON and RMT say figures obtained from official contract registers suggest this is not happening.
Further analysis has been commissioned by the unions for a report designed to coincide with Labour’s conference later this month.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously backed calls for more insourcing and the two unions say he must bring that commitment to public services across the UK.
UNISON and RMT's Insource Now! campaign aims to ramp up the return of more contracts to the public sector. The launch is timed to coincide with MPs’ return to Parliament today following the summer recess, and ahead of the political conference season.
Dozens of outsourced workers will attend tonight's launch, with many sharing stories about how working on inferior contracts has affected their lives. They will appear alongside UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan and RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey, who will outline the campaign aims.
The unions have welcomed Andy Burnham’s pledge to put ‘life's essentials back under stronger public control’ and believe this provides an opportunity to deliver on Labour’s pledges to reverse public sector outsourcing. Both unions are urging the new Prime Minister to implement an urgent programme to deliver on insourcing.
This includes ensuring each government department and public body works with unions to create a ‘people’s plan’ to insource contracts as they expire or when break clauses arise. The unions also want to see annual audits produced, alongside the autumn budget, to make clear how much profit is extracted from public services through outsourcing.
UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said: “This is hardly the wave of insourcing that everyone was promised. At best, all we've seen is a trickle.
"Outsourcing is a scourge that's draining vast amounts of cash from public services to generate huge profits skimmed off by greedy bosses of private firms.
"Every penny should be spent on providing higher quality services for everyone who needs them and making sure staff are paid fairly, instead of given rock-bottom rates.
"Insourcing makes perfect economic sense and makes sure the public get what they pay for.”
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: "Public sector outsourcing is a national scandal that has been privatising essential public services throughout the country.
“Taxpayers' money is being used to increase the profits of wealthy corporations while workers and communities pay the price through worse jobs and services.
“With Andy Burnham’s welcome support for insourcing, there's now a real opportunity to turn the page
"We're calling on the government to urgently agree a new 'people's plan' for insourcing to end the exploitation of workers and ensure public services put people before profit."
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