Queen's Speech December 2019 - Boycotts by public institutions

Boycotts by public institutions

• ●  We will stop public institutions from imposing their own approach or views about international relations, through preventing boycotts, divestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries and those who trade with them.

• ●  This will create a coherent approach to foreign relations from all public institutions, by ensuring that they do not go beyond the UK Government’s settled policy towards a foreign country. The UK Government is responsible for foreign relations and determining the best way to interact with its international neighbours.

  The main benefits would be:

• ●  Ensuring that the UK taxpayer only has to pay for foreign policy once. Public institutions should not be pursuing their own foreign policy agenda with public money.

• ●  Preventing divisive behaviour that undermines community cohesion. There are concerns that such boycotts have legitimised antisemitism, such as Jewish films being censored and Jewish university societies being threatened with bans.

  The main elements are:

  • ●  Stopping public institutions from taking a different approach to UK Government sanctions and foreign relations. This will be in the form of preventing public institutions carrying out independent boycotts and sanctions against (i) foreign countries, or those linked to them, (ii) the sale of goods and services from foreign countries, and (iii) UK firms which trade with such countries, where such an approach is not in line with UK Government sanctions.

  • ●  It will apply to institutions across the public sector, not just councils, where there have been issues of bodies using public resource to carry out boycotts, pursuing their own agenda beyond UK sanctions.

  • ●  The measures will cover purchasing, procurement and investment decisions which undermine cohesion and integration.

  • ●  Further details on the extent and application of the policy will be published in due course.

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Key facts

• ●  The Cabinet Office has published guidance against such procurement boycotts and the then Department for Communities and Local Government has previously issued local government pension guidance.

• ●  It is a long-standing principle that there may be restrictions on taxpayer- funded public bodies that do not apply to private bodies; for example, public bodies cannot engage in party political campaigning.

• ●  Conservative Party Manifesto Pledge: “We will ban public bodies from imposing their own direct or indirect boycotts, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries. These undermine community cohesion.”