28th February 2023
When we started planning our roundtable with the PPMA at the end of last year, we knew that the workforce issues facing Local Government were unprecedented. We perhaps hadn’t appreciated that this would continue to dominate headlines, not just in specialist titles, but in mainstream media highlighting the lack of an adult and children’s social workers, shrinking local government pay and the loss of key skills in many areas.
The event was held at London Councils’ offices in London and attended by Chief Executives and Directors of People and OD from a number of different councils. The aim was to debate and explore ways Local Government could move from short to longer-term responses to workforce issues and build Employer Value. Concerns raised around the table echoed the headlines but also highlighted some of the more subtle effects of labour market changes on Local Government. In addition to the well-publicised lack of social workers, an ageing workforce is having a disproportionate impact, there are equal pay challenges and pay structures generally are no longer fit for purpose. As an example, a cleaner can now earn more working for the NHS and other specialist skills such as legal are being lost to other public sector organisations that pay more.
Mo Baines, Chief Executive, APSE kicked off the discussion with highlights from research illustrating the cumulative impact of events; the austerity years, Brexit, lack of longer-term financial settlements and Covid. Although the impact is not the same everywhere in the UK, 64% of councils report their main challenge is recruitment and retention with early retirement an issue for 36%. There are shortages not just of social workers but also of HGV drivers, and in building and construction, parks and grounds, highways, catering and cleaning. Steve Davies, Head of the London Regional Employers Organisation shared recent ONS data which echoed many of the APSE findings at a national level. Key concerns highlighted the growth in the economically inactive and the increase in long-term sick. Having tracked and even outperformed the private sector during Covid, overall public sector pay is now significantly lagging behind private.
The debate was lively and people weren’t afraid to disagree or challenge but there was broad agreement that working in Local Government has lost some of its status as a profession and, with it why it’s great to work for a council. Unlike other national bodies such as NHS, police and armed forces there is no central government support for recruitment and national training for Local Government. Yet there are huge opportunities, many roles can be flexible, and benefits include a good pension and offer the opportunity to make a difference; which can really contribute to EVP where social value is growing in importance, particularly for the young. The event was a great platform for sharing experiences and steps that are being taken at a local or regional level to address some of these issues, such as the London Pledge. A strong theme came through that it’s about the stories of the people working in Local Government that make a difference, whether it’s the young person just starting out, apprenticeship opportunities or people moving into their second or third career. All agreed that one huge benefit of Local Government is that where you start is unlikely to be where you finish.
CSG’s Commercial Director Steve Wilson commented “Alongside fair funding, workforce attraction and retention remains the most critical challenge facing Local Government today. Whether on a local or national level, there is an opportunity to demonstrate the huge variety of careers available, to attract new talent. By developing a clear and compelling employer value proposition (EVP), I’m sure Councils will thrive in the war on talent. Then it’s about creating clear career pathways and developing the skills of today and tomorrow to stem the flow of good people leaving Local Government”.
Further details of the discussion will be made available shortly and we are already planning our next roundtable. There were so many other issues coming out of the discussion that we didn’t have time to discuss, we will have much to pick up at the next event.
Thank you to Mo Baines and Steve Davies for presenting. Thank you to PPMA particularly Gordon McFarlane and Barry Pirie and thank you to all our guests for attending.
Following this great event, we are pleased to share the write-up in People Management which captures so many salient points raised on the day. Read the full article here > Potholes, bins and social work – tackling the recruitment and retention crisis in local government (peoplemanagement.co.uk)