Labour vows to curb Ministry of Defence outsourcing

Capita's army recruitment contract has come in for criticism

Getty Images British soldiers march through the streets of Edinburgh — Capita's army recruitment contract has come in for criticism

A Labour government would end the outsourcing of large defence contracts to the private sector, the party's shadow defence secretary will promise.

Nia Griffith would also have "no hesitation" in bringing contracts in house if they are not delivering.

Her speech comes a week after Capita was awarded a £500m contract to run UK military fire and rescue services.

This was despite the MoD being told the firm was judged a "10 out of 10 risk" by an assessment, according to the FT.

Capita has also been involved in the Army's recruitment contract, which has been heavily criticised for IT problems and repeated failures to hit targets.

Another company - CarillionAmery - was criticised by MPs in 2016 in a report that alleged shortcomings in its housing provision for service families.

Ms Griffith, in a speech to defence think tank Rusi, will say: "Whether it is the persistent complaints about the quality of housing maintenance provided by CarillionAmey - with personnel and their families stuck for days with leaking roofs, broken boilers and appliances that don't work.

"Or the appalling performance of Capita's recruitment contract with the Army which is failing on every measure.

"These examples typify the MOD's current approach - rushing to privatise services without being clear about the rationale, failing to monitor these contracts when they have been outsourced, and then doggedly refusing to take any action against companies that do not deliver."

If Labour wins the next general election, it would "carry out a root and branch review of significant service contracts that have been outsourced by the department," she added.

"Where they are not delivering, where they are failing our personnel and their families, or failing to provide value for money to British taxpayers, we will have no hesitation in bringing these contracts back in-house.

"And we will call an immediate halt to the significant contracts that are currently being considered for outsourcing, with Labour introducing a clear presumption in favour of public contracts being delivered by the public sector."