Councils will no longer be able to boycott countries or companies unless restrictions have already been put in place by the Government under new rules published today.
The new rules will make the government’s foreign policy a legal requirement for councils when they are buying goods or services.
Communities secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘We need to challenge and prevent divisive town hall boycotts which undermine good community relations.
‘No council should be boycotting any company or country unnecessarily – instead their main focus should be delivering the value for money taxpayers rightly expect.’
Today’s announcement follows rules introduced last year banning councils from using local government pension policies to introduce boycotts.
Read our feature looking at Whitehall's decision to ban procurement boycotts.
