Auditors warn on future Whitehall skills and talent shortage

5 Jun 15
Whitehall departments have made nearly £2.5bn of staff savings since 2010, the National Audit Office has found, but the watchdog warned the cuts create a risk of talent and skill shortage in the future.

Auditors found that the number of civil servants has fallen by 18%, from 492,000 in March 2010 to 405,000 in December 2014. This reduced the salary bill by £2.49bn to £11.13bn as part of the government’s deficit reduction drive.

The Central government staff costs report highlighted that departments had mainly reduced numbers by minimising recruitment, which was a cheaper option in the short term than redundancies of existing staff.

However, it warned that this was resulting in older staff comprising a greater proportion of the workforce, and this changing age profile increased the possibility of skills and talent shortages in the future.

The percentage of the civil service workforce aged between 20 and 29 has fallen from 14% to 9% over the period, while the percentage of 50-59 age group had increased from 26% to 31%.

There is a growing awareness in government of the risk these low levels of recruitment may bring, the NAO stated, but there was not yet a clear understanding of the potential consequences or the necessary management actions.
Auditor general Amyas Morse said not enough planning has gone into making sure staff reductions are sustainable and do not damage the delivery of public services.

“The centre of government must do more to help departments meet these challenges, including managing the heightened risk of a shortage of vital skills,” he added.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said the report’s recommendations would be reviewed.

“The civil service is the smallest it’s ever been since the Second World War, saving taxpayers £2.4bn last year, while continuing to deliver leading public services,’ he added.

“We are working to ensure that the civil service is more skilled and diverse, and have made good progress in building strong commercial, digital and project delivery skills. We will continue to focus on these areas.”

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