Outsourcing as a threat to public health: the case for insourcing public sector cleaners and facilities management

Outsourcing as a threat to public health: the case for insourcing public sector cleaners and facilities management The evidence cited in this report suggests that outsourced health facilities management services pose a threat to public health. This represents a major weakness in the UK’s ability to cope with subsequent waves of Covid-19. As a matter of public health, this paper recommends that: the government should launch an urgent and independent inquiry into the outsourcing of key workers, including cleaners, to assess whether, as the literature suggests, there is a link between outsourcing and higher rates of infection; and as a pandemic precautionary measure, all local authorities and NHS Trusts should immediately assess their portfolio of healthcare facilities management and sanitation workers, and examine opportunities to bring them in-house. New Economics Foundation