Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on local democracy of changes to regulations to discourage public authorities from making procurement and investment decisions on ethical grounds.

The guidance we issued on 17 February reminds public authorities of their existing international obligations when letting public contracts. It makes clear that boycotts in public procurement are inappropriate, outside where formal legal sanctions, embargoes and restrictions have been put in place by the Government:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0116-complying-with-international-obligations

The Department for Communities and Local Government is currently working to give effect to the recent announcement on Local Government Pension Scheme funds’ investment allocations, specifically the extent to which administering authorities should have regard to non-financial factors.