UNIONS welcomed “a huge victory” in their campaign against outsourcing today after ministers announced that 2,000 workers will be brought back in-house.

Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the PM, said he wanted to “end the era of outsourcing by default and build stronger in-house capacity” as the Cabinet Office laid out plans to stop outsourcing jobs in cleaning and security services to private firms.

New guidance will require central government departments to produce five-year roadmaps demonstrating how they will strengthen their in-house capabilities.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union welcomed the decision to insource facilities management contracts overseen by the Government Property Agency, affecting roughly 2,000 low-paid workers.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Bringing around 2,000 workers back into the Civil Service will help end that unfairness, deliver better value for taxpayers and show that public services work best when they are delivered in the public interest, not for private profit.

“For too long, outsourced workers have faced lower pay, poorer conditions and been treated as second-class citizens.

“This is a huge victory for members and a clear vindication of our campaign for insourcing. This achievement demonstrates what can be won through collective action.”

Ms Heathcote also called on the government to apply this approach to other outsourced services, including pension administration.

The PCS added that insourcing should be considered for the Civil Service pension scheme, following “Capita’s shambolic handling” of workers’ pension payments.

Public ownership campaigners with We Own It welcomed the government’s moves on this “key pledge” from Labour.

Speaking to the Star, the group’s outreach lead Johnbosco Nwogbo warned: “The devil will be in the details.

“But these are the right noises to be coming out of government.

“Outsourcing leads to a worse quality of service, as private firms seek to save on costs by skimping on staff numbers, adequate staff training, and resources and supplies to do the job well.

“No wonder research shows that hospitals cleaned by private firms are dirtier and spread hospital-acquired infections more than those cleaned by in-house staff.”

The TUC welcomed the announcement, calling it an “important step towards the government’s promise to deliver the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak added that it should “kickstart a serious programme of insourcing contracts across the public sector” to “stop money being wasted and help rebuild our public services.”