Want firms to behave better? Then beef-up contracts, says IPPR

How the state procures its 300bn a year worth of spending is key to making companies work for wider society, says IPPR

The government should use the leverage from the near 300bn a year it spends on goods and services to ensure businesses behave responsibly and improve working conditions, a left-of-centre thinktank has said.

The Institute for Public Policy Research said Whitehall was failing to maximise the impact of its financial clout despite a procurement budget worth 14% of the economy's annual output and 36% of total government spending.

Extending its scope from services to include the procurement of goods and contracts relating to construction and engineering.

Requiring public bodies to "account for" rather than simply "consider" social value, forcing them to state publicly the additional social benefit they have delivered.

Applying it to all contracts but with a lesser expectation depending on the scale.