There is a crisis looming in the public services workforce with a
shrinking workforce unable to meet rising demand for increasingly
complex services. This is the conclusion of a
hard-hitting report by the cross-party House of Lords Public
Services Committee published today (19 July).
The report further concludes that the current situation will only
worsen, with demand for services rising faster than the
working-age population and the public service having to deliver
the same or better services with less labour available. While the
challenge is significant, the report sets out an action plan for
Government and argues that imaginative, creative and
flexible solutions must be implemented to make public service
careers attractive and ensure there is a sustainable workforce
for the future.
The Committee’s plan for action includes:
The workforce experience –The Committee reports
that many public service workers felt “intense pressure” and
experienced “suffering” due to increased pressure and rising
vacancies: ultimately this creates a vicious circle affecting
people who access these services. Discrimination is also a
factor as this remains at unacceptable levels and acts as a
barrier for the recruitment and retention of talented staff.
The public service workforce cannot be sustainable until
the experiences of staff are broadly positive. There
must be an end to the culture problems driving people to
leave.
Workforce deployment – The Committee concludes
that there is too little imagination and flexibility in who is
deployed to do what job. Referring to “untapped potential”, it
finds that empowering staff to take more decisions, and
prioritising preventative services would result in a more
effective workforce able to deliver more, and better, into the
future. The potential of many staff to deliver services
is largely untapped. There is a need to get the
most out of the workforce by empowering them and thinking
imaginatively about where they could be deployed.
Recruitment – To tackle serious difficulties in
recruitment, the Committee looked at the “offer” of public
service careers. It found that pay will continue to constitute a
significant barrier to workforce sustainability and looked at
other ways of enhancing the offer. The report concludes that
the offer of public service careers should be made more
attractive by fixing pensions and offering flexible
working. In addition, the need to fix the broken
brand of public service careers and get an appealing message
out is highlighted.
Routes into careers – The Committee heard that
traditional routes into public service careers were limiting and
may not be the best way to train the workforce needed for the
future. Alternative entry routes such as apprenticeships
and local talent pools offer real potential to reach candidates –
including those who may not be able to afford a degree.
Action must be taken to create new and accessible entry
routes, and properly use those that already exist.
Training - People now want broader portfolio
careers, and the idea of a job for life with a good pension is no
longer the ultimate goal. The public sector must adapt to support
this shift in preferences. The report pushes for a mindset shift
and concludes that public sector employers must train to
retain and rethink development so that skills can be recognised
and used more effectively across broad careers. The
report also urges Government to prioritise the development of
training programmes to ensure services work for users
through meaningful consultation.
Commenting on the report, the Committee Chair,
said;
“It is clear that user demands on the public services
workforce are increasing and that staff numbers cannot keep up.
It is imperative that we find new and different ways of
delivering effective public services and taking the public sector
workforce along in this process so that people get a better
service when they access these facilities.
“If the plan of action we set out is implemented, it will be
a substantial step in ensuring a public sector workforce that is
efficient, effective and sustainable in the long-term. We need to
reshape - and rebrand - public services to make then an
attractive career choice. We can do that by empowering people,
and providing innovative training with personal and professional
development, so they feel valued and want to remain in these
important careers. In addition, consultation with service users
and those with lived experience will allow their input to be a
real part of redesigning services to deliver exactly what is
needed, when it is needed.
“We recognise that this is not just a job for Whitehall but
for local government, regulators, professional bodies,
universities, senior public service management and all other
relevant parties who will have to work together to address how
the increasing and inescapable challenges faced by the public
services workforce can be tackled.
“We urge the Government to take the lead in implementing the
report’s plan of action and encourage other relevant parties to
join in implementing the necessary changes for a public services
workforce which is fit for the future.”
