Reed warns councils over boycotting Israel

Local government secretary Steve Reed has warned councils against boycotts of firms linked with Israel, warning that local authorities could leave themselves open to legal action.

Reed added: ‘Councils should stay out of foreign conflicts and get on with the job of delivering local services.’

He pointed to guidance published in 2016 prohibiting boycotts of firms linked with Israel and provisions in the Procurement Act 2023 enabling suppliers to take councils to court if they lost money.

A central aim of the Procurement Act 2023 is to restrict public bodies, including local authorities, from implementing their own boycotts or sanctions against foreign countries (often referred to as “local foreign policy”) through procurement decisions.

In practice this means a local authority cannot exclude a supplier simply because it has ties to Israel (or any other country) unless such an exclusion is required by UK-wide sanctions, embargoes or specific government guidance.

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