Government Departments and Agencies: Facilities Management Services

Jon Trickett (Normanton and Hemsworth) (Lab) and Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab) asked the Minister without Portfolio, Ellie Reeves, whether the Government plans to increase the number of facilities management services that are insourced within Government Departments and agencies. In her response, the Minister stated that the Government will always aim to secure value for money in meeting their facilities management requirements. She acknowledged that too many decisions about outsourcing were ideologically driven under the previous Government, without consideration for factors such as social value or service quality. The Minister said that the Government's new plan to make work pay will transform the world of work, ensuring that all jobs are secure, fulfilling and well-paid. Jon Trickett followed up, welcoming the Minister's response and highlighting the issues with outsourcing, such as the creation of a two-tier workforce, lack of accountability to Ministers, and exemption from freedom of information requests. He asked the Minister to confirm that the Government will abandon the previous Government's ideological obsession with outsourcing. Kim Johnson also followed up, noting that the outsourcing of facility management services has disproportionately impacted women and black workers, who have suffered a reduction in their pay, terms and conditions. She asked the Minister to examine the benefits of insourcing facilities management services, particularly with regard to performance and tackling discriminatory outcomes on pay, and to meet with representatives of the Public and Commercial Services Union to discuss this matter further. The Minister acknowledged Kim Johnson's points, stating that under the previous Government, too many jobs such as cleaning and security were insecure, with a race to the bottom on standards and pay. She reiterated that the Government's plan to make work pay will ensure that all jobs are secure, fulfilling and well-paid. The Minister also mentioned that the Government will introduce an equality Bill to enshrine in law the right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people, and introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting.