ANDY Burnham has been blasted for “rewarding polluters” after axing net-zero criteria as part of UK Government procurement requirements when agreeing public contracts.
It comes after Louise Haigh, who is effectively Andy Burnham’s deputy prime minister as First Secretary of State, told the Financial Times that Whitehall will scrap a list of demands that companies have had to satisfy in order to win deals.
“For too long, [public] procurement has tried to tick too many boxes,” she said.
“If you prioritise everything, then you’re prioritising nothing.”
Haigh said the rules had included “a whole gamut of conditions around net zero, around the environment".
She continued: “There were things that I think a lot of businesses would have struggled to prove, like tackling domestic abuse and improving high streets. It became quite amorphous."
The Cabinet Office’s new “social value” model will require firms, both inside the UK and internationally, to show they are creating jobs and opportunities in Britain.
But the changes have been condemned by Green politicians, including the Scottish Greens, who accused the Labour Government of “not caring” about the climate.
“This is a UK Government choosing to roll back on climate action by abandoning climate and sustainability safeguards,” Scottish Greens spokesperson for public service reform Lorna Slater said.
“Rewarding companies that cut emissions, protect nature and invest in green skills is exactly how we build secure industries, protect our climate, and guarantee well-paid jobs in the future.
"Scrapping these conditions will instead offer the reverse, rewarding companies that cut corners and put taxpayers’ money contributing to pollution rather than tackling it.”
The Scottish Green MSP added: “At a time of worsening extreme weather, soaring energy bills and devastating natural loss, the new Prime Minister should strengthen climate action and invest in a fair green transition that puts workers and the climate ahead of short-term profit.
“Instead, Labour is once again dragging us backwards and pretending that economic growth depends on abandoning the planet, when nothing could be further from the truth.”
