Jacob Rees-Mogg to reduce government focus on ethical contracts

Jacob Rees-Mogg is preparing to shake up government outsourcing so that it focuses more on taxpayer value-for-money and less on supposedly ethical principles.

The minister for government efficiency wants to reduce the weighting given to "social value" when contracts are handed out.

The measure currently encompasses a wide range of non-financial metrics including carbon emissions, jobs and the impact on local communities.

Mr Rees-Mogg has held meetings with major outsourcers to underline the changes, which are also designed to reweight government contracts in favour of smaller providers who he fears are negatively impacted by social value criteria.

A Whitehall source told the Telegraph that a key consideration was “how social value is defined”. Critics believe the current wide-ranging definition favours large companies with well-staffed public affairs and policy departments.

Mr Rees-Mogg has taken control of government procurement via his new role as minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, to which he was appointed in February.

Mr Rees-Mogg follows Lord Agnew as the government’s procurement minister, who resigned from the role earlier this year having accused the Government of failing to crack down on coronavirus loan fraud.

Nick Davies, an outsourcing researcher for the Institute for Government said the changes could clash with government policy in other areas.

Mr Davies said: “Reform to make government procurement more accessible to small businesses is welcome, but a greater focus on price rather than social value risks having the opposite effect.  It’s also unclear how this fits with the Government’s net zero policy and focus”.

The changes are part of a wider move to reassess the role of ethics in procurement and investment. Earlier this month, The Telegraph reported that Downing Street was planning to launch a charm offensive on behalf of UK defence companies amid fears that ethical investing is posing a “fundamental risk to British sovereignty” in the wake of Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

Sheridan Westlake, one of the longest-serving political appointees in Downing Street, is in charge of the strategy following warnings that companies have hesitated to bid for work on nuclear weaponry and other defence resources out of fear of being frozen out by managers of "ethical" City funds.

The Cabinet Office was approached for comment.