The value of Government contracts awarded to the private sector doubled over four years to £20bn, with councils accounting for a rising percentage of total outsourcing.
Findings from a Seymour Pierce analysis of services contracts worth over £115,000 found that local government accounted for 63% of public sector outsourcing in 2012, a 7% rise on 2008, with the total value of council contracts for the private sector increasing by 140% to £12.9bn in 2012.
The number of services contracts awarded by the Government to the private sector rose by 7% in the four years preceding 2012, their combined value growing from £9.6bn in 2008 to £20.6bn in 2012.
Nearly half of waste management services in local government are currently outsourced, amounting to a £1.128bn cost.
Over 20% of council transactional finance, human resource and payroll services are currently outsourced, as is 2% of social housing management, totalling a combined cost of £207m.
Of the six government departments reviewed by Seymour Pierce, the total value of outsourcing contracts increased in local government, health and justice.