Green priorities are to be dropped in favour of creating jobs in a major policy shift in public procurement.

Government contracts, a market that is worth £90bn per year, will be judged on their commitment to creating jobs, tackling local skills shortages, and supporting young people into apprenticeships and work placements as the new Prime Minister attempts to tackle a worklessness crisis.

But the moves have been criticised as weakening commitments to protecting the environment, which have been reduced as a trade-off for employment.

First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said: “Every pound of taxpayer money should be spent in a way that benefits local communities, creating good jobs and giving young people the skills they need for the future. For too long, securing government contracts has been a tick box exercise that fails to deliver the positive change that people feel in their pocket and see in the places they live.”

Whether ‘tick box’ was pointed at the previous environmental requirements was unclear, and the requirement for companies to prove their green and ‘progressive’ values might also have been in that firing line.

To ensure companies honour their pledges, for major contracts, government departments will allocate a key performance indicator and make annual progress reports available publicly. Suppliers’ performance will be measured against their commitments.

---