The government spends nearly a third of its overall budget on outsourcing work to external suppliers, according to new research.
The Institute for Government says outsourcing costs Whitehall £284 billion each year, despite some contractors “struggling”.
The findings come at the end of a year which saw the collapse of construction giant Carillion and, more recently, the shares of services provider Interserve to halve on Monday.
On a cheery note as we head for Christmas UK wages are continuing to rise at their highest level in almost a decade, according to the latest official statistics.
ONS figures reveal year-on-year wages increased by 3.3% in the three months to October, making this the most substantial rise since November 2008.
ONS senior statistician Matt Hughes said, “Real earnings are now growing faster than at any time since around the end of 2016”. The average weekly wage is now £495 – the highest since 2011, when adjusted for inflation.
The statistics also show that a record number of people are in work. The employment rate has increased by 79,000 to over 32 million – the highest figure since records began.
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