The bosses of Britain's biggest outsourcers, including BT Group, Capita and G4S, have been summoned for talks in Whitehall this week as part of a public sector procurement shake-up driven by Boris Johnson's top aide.

Sky News has learnt that roughly 20 chief executives of major suppliers to government have been called to a meeting on Tuesday to be hosted by John Manzoni, the outgoing head of the Civil Service.

City sources said the summit was designed to address "new government priorities" and "wider commercial policy priorities" as part of a renewed "war on waste" being orchestrated by Dominic Cummings.

Mr Cummings, who has signalled a desire to eliminate bloated spending on outsourcing projects, is not due to attend the meeting, while a Cabinet Office spokesman said there would also be no minister present.

Image: BT is among the companies attending the meeting

Nevertheless, one private sector attendee said it would be a "significant" discussion as the government prepares to publish an updated version of its "outsourcing playbook" next month.


Attendees at Tuesday's meeting earn billions of pounds annually from government work, and some of their employers are dependent upon the public sector for a substantial proportion of their turnover.

A list of those invited to the talks includes Philip Jansen, BT Group chief executive; Jonathan Lewis of Capita; G4S's Ashley Almanza; Lynn Mawdsley, who runs Interserve's support services arm; Phil Bentley from Mitie; Amey chief Amanda Fisher; Rupert Soames of Serco and Archie Bethel, departing chief executive of Babcock International.

The bosses of business groups including the CBI have also been asked to attend.

According to the agenda for Tuesday's meeting, subjects that will be discussed include how government is "tackling inappropriate risk allocation".

The financial health of major outsourcers has been an area of intense focus as they grapple with wafer-thin profit margins.

Carillion's collapse in 2018 sparked furious criticism of the government's lack of preparation for an insolvency.

Last year, Interserve went through a pre-pack administration but ended up in the hands of its lenders with little disruption to its public sector contracts.

There have also been mounting concerns over the future of Kier Group, although Whitehall sources denied a Sunday Telegraph report that Deloitte had been appointed to advise it on the company's financial position.

Tuesday's meeting comes shortly before Mr Manzoni is due to step down as chief executive of the Civil Service.

Sky News revealed last month that he was preparing to quit, with his role expected to be modified into a chief operating officer role.

Whitehall insiders tipped permanent secretaries including Alex Chisholm, who holds that post at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, as possible successors.

Others include his counterparts at the departments of health and Claire Moriarty, who holds the post at DEXEU, they added.

A Cabinet Office spokesman described the meeting with the outsourcing industry as "a regular catch-up".