The UK government allocates £284 billion to private companies, charities, and voluntary organizations for delivering goods, frontline public services, and back-office support. As pioneers in outsourcing public services, recent failures in probation and prisons, combined with profit warnings from suppliers, have reignited the debate over outsourcing practices.

At a recent event, leading politicians, experts, and practitioners discussed the successes and failures of government outsourcing. They examined where outsourcing has effectively reduced costs or driven innovation, where it fell short of expectations, and what the future may hold.

The panel featured:

- Sam Gyimah MP, former Minister of State for Universities and Science and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons and Probation
- Chris Matheson MP, Labour Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
- Matthew Fell, UK Policy Director, Confederation of British Industry
- John Tizard, independent strategic advisor; former Director of Government and Business Engagement at Capita and joint leader of Bedfordshire County Council
- Katja Hall, Corporate Affairs Director, Capita
- Alan White, News Editor at BuzzFeed News and author of *Shadow State: Inside the Secret Companies that Run Britain*

The discussion was moderated by Emma Norris, Director of Research at the Institute for Government.

This event was supported by the international law firm Gowling WLG.

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