Public sector recruitment costs
Lack of common cost-per-hire metrics and transparent reporting on recruitment costs across government departments.
369 items
7 sources
4 inquiries
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
100match
#10 - Most departments lack comprehensive recruitment cost data, hindering efficiency understanding and comparison.
Most departments—14 out of the 16 main civil service departments in 2022—do not collect full information on their recruitment costs and therefore do not understand how much it costs them to hire staff. The Ministry of Justice told us that, in common with most other departments, it does not track the cost of staff time spent on recruitment...
Matched on
terms: cost, public, recruitment
Committee recommendation
100match
#3 - Define common cost-per-hire measure, require regular reporting, and share efficient recruitment examples
Most departments do not know how much it costs to recruit staff, or how they could be more efficient. 14 of the 16 main departments cannot provide full recruitment cost data. Only one department, HM Revenue & Customs, understands its recruitment costs well enough to be able to calculate its cost per hire, which is a standard metric...
Matched on
terms: cost, public, recruitment
Committee recommendation
95match
#18 - Significant capacity and skills imbalance exists between public and private planning sectors
There is an imbalance in capacity and capability between the public and private sector. Larger developers are generally better resourced with people who have specialist skills for negotiation.25 In its written evidence, the Chartered Institute of Housing expressed concern that local planning departments across England had faced significant reductions in staffing levels, with reduced capacity causing delays in...
Matched on
terms: public, sector
Committee recommendation
94match
#20 - Progress reported on recruitment for Pathways to Planning and capacity building programmes
The Department subsequently wrote to us with additional information on this topic. It explained that: • Since it began funding the Pathways to Planning programme in 2023, two cohorts of graduates had been placed into LPAs, both of which started in September 2024. There were 87 placements in total, and recruitment for the subsequent intake had attracted over...
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment, sector
Committee recommendation
89match
#4 - Set out how the Capacity and Capability Programme will improve and retain planners for LPAs.
We are unconvinced that the Department is adequately addressing staffing capacity and capability issues within local planning authorities. Research from the sector suggests staffing in LPAs is a serious problem. The Royal Town Planning Institute’s 2023 State of the Profession report found that, in the period 2013–2020, around a quarter 3 of planners left the public sector, while...
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment, sector
NAO recommendation
86match
Civil service workforce: Recruitment, pay and performance management
By June 2024, the Cabinet Office should require departments to report fully and regularly against the recruitment metrics it has developed, particularly those on recruitment costs, so that both departments and the Cabinet Office can monitor and benchmark recruitment performance.
Matched on
terms: cost, recruitment
Committee recommendation
85match
#19 - Department introducing funding and fee reforms to address local planning authority staffing issues
We challenged the Department on what it was doing to tackle the root causes of LPAs’ staffing problems. It explained that several initiatives were under way, and that it would provide direct funding of around £12 million for the recruitment and retention of planners. It also told us that LPAs were allowed to increase planning fees in 2025,...
Matched on
terms: cost, public, recruitment
Committee recommendation
84match
#3 - Eleventh Report - Local auditor reporting on local government in England
The commercial attractiveness to audit firms of auditing local authorities has declined. Audit firms bid for the current contracts to audit local authorities in 2017, but the work involved has increased significantly in response to well-publicised problems in the corporate sector. Fees now bear little relation to the costs audit firms incur to carry out the work. Audit...
Matched on
terms: cost, public, sector
Committee recommendation
82match
#17 - Local planning authorities face severe staffing problems and planner exodus to private sector
Research from the sector suggests that staffing in local planning authorities (LPAs) is a serious problem. The Royal Town Planning Institute’s 2023 State of the Profession report found that, in the period 2013–2020, around a quarter of planners left the public sector, while the private sector grew by two-thirds. A 2022 survey by the Local Government Association found...
Matched on
terms: public, sector
Committee recommendation
80match
#5 - Twenty-Second - Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts
The Department will not secure a step change in performance until it can recruit and retain the highly skilled staff that it requires. The Department continues to suffer from skills shortages in key areas critical to effective contract and programme management. It relies on expensive temporary contractors to deliver many of its programmes. We note that the cost...
Matched on
terms: cost, public, sector
Committee recommendation
78match
#29 - Eleventh Report - Local auditor reporting on local government in England
Sir Tony Redmond highlighted that his review found that the lack of career prospects and opportunities produced a real challenge for trainee accountants when considering whether to go into public sector accounting and auditing. He believed that audit firms needed to give more attention to career progression and training schemes for people to encourage them into public sector...
Matched on
terms: public, sector
Committee recommendation
78match
#4 - Eleventh Report - Local auditor reporting on local government in England
The rapidly diminishing pool of suitably qualified and experienced staff increases the risks to the timely completion of quality audits. There are serious shortfalls in the number of specialists which audit firms rely on to carry out audits of local authorities. To maintain accreditation, audit firms’ key audit partners must have at least three years’ oversight experience of...
Matched on
terms: public, sector
Committee recommendation
76match
#3 - Forty-Seventh Report - COVID-19: Test, track and trace (part 1)
Although it had to act quickly to scale up the service, NHST&T is still overly reliant on expensive contractors and temporary staff. To scale up the test and trace service rapidly, the Department and NHST&T worked with a wide range of public and private sector partners, including consultants. By the end of December 2020, the Department had signed...
Matched on
terms: cost, public, recruitment, sector
Committee recommendation
74match
#4 - Twenty-Eighth Report - Efficiency in government
Skills shortages in the civil service could compromise departments’ ability to achieve efficiency savings. A lack of skills and leadership capability has caused delays, inefficiencies, and increased costs in several previous government projects. For example, the InterCity West Coast franchise competition saw a lack of leadership and expertise contribute to its collapse, and the Common Agricultural Policy Delivery...
Matched on
terms: cost, public
Committee recommendation
72match
#25 - 76th Report - New Hospital Programme update
The Department told us that while there had been a slight pause in recruitment, the programme was not currently under a recruitment freeze for key roles and it did not currently see resourcing as a concern.55 We challenged the Department on this, highlighting that the impact of public sector vacancies on deliverability was rated red on the programme’s...
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment, sector
Committee recommendation
68match
#6 - Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health infrastructure
There is a risk that the Weybridge redevelopment programme will not have sufficient staff capability and capacity to manage the Programme effectively. The Weybridge site is nationally important in the UK’s defence against animal diseases. The Department confirmed that the Weybridge redevelopment programme is a high priority for staffing. However, the National Audit Office highlighted the challenges the...
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment
Committee recommendation
68match
#11 - Thirty-Sixth Report - The Defence digital strategy
However, the National Audit Office reported that the Department finds it difficult to recruit and retain digital specialist talent.31 We were interested in what is stopping the Department from getting the skills it needs; for example, its ability to pay the market rate for digital specialists. The Department acknowledged that it does not expect to compete with the...
Matched on
terms: public, sector
Inquiry recommendation
65match
RHI-8 - Job-Specific Recruitment
A fundamental shift is needed in the approach used within the Northern Ireland Civil Service with regard to recruitment and selection for government jobs. This must involve an up-front assessment of the skills that are required to fulfil the specific role in question, rather than matching a person to a role according to an individual's grade and level...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
64match
#7 - Develop strategy for attracting and retaining civil service skills for hospital construction.
The Programme is over-reliant on consultancy services. NHP has depended heavily on external consultants since its creation, with 62% of posts filled using consultancy services in February 2023. DHSC estimates it will spend a further £842 million on consultancy services between 2023–24 and 203031. Some use of consultancy is to be expected on major construction programmes, but, as...
Matched on
terms: public, sector
Committee recommendation
64match
#24 - 76th Report - New Hospital Programme update
In 2023 the previous Committee reported that the programme had struggled to recruit staff and had relied too heavily on external consultants.51 As of November 2025, the programme had a vacancy rate of 39%, resolution of which was being hampered by a recruitment freeze following the Department’s plans to abolish NHS England.52 These capability gaps could slow delivery,...
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment
Committee recommendation
64match
#5 - 76th Report - New Hospital Programme update
The Department has been slow to develop the capacity and capability it needs to deliver such a complex programme. The Department’s central programme team for the New Hospital Programme will require significant technical expertise to deliver successfully. Prior to the 2025 reset, the programme had struggled to recruit staff and had become reliant on external contractors. By November...
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment
Committee recommendation
64match
#13 - Forty-Seventh Report - COVID-19: Test, track and trace (part 1)
The response to a parliamentary question confirmed that, at the beginning of November 2020, there were 2,300 consultants and contractors working for 73 different suppliers in NHST&T, with a total consultancy cost of approximately £375 million up to that point.43 However, when giving evidence to the Science and Technology Committee on 3 February, NHST&T said that it was...
Matched on
terms: cost, public
Committee recommendation
64match
#6 - Twentieth Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20
Government has not yet set out the consequences of announced Civil Service staffing reductions. In May 2022, the government announced that it intends to cut 91,000 jobs from the civil service over the next three years. The 2021 Spending Review had already confirmed the need for savings of 5% against day-to-day central departmental budgets in 2024–25, however, these...
Matched on
terms: cost, public
Committee recommendation
64match
#33 - Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health infrastructure
We asked the Department about progress it has made on the Government’s request to draw up plans to reduce staff numbers and how the Weybridge redevelopment programme would be accommodated within these plans. The Department stated that it is in the early stages of its planning and is modelling some of these reductions. It told us that it...
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment
IMB recommendation
63match
Gartree (2021)
Can the Prison Service share with the Board how it will ensure the recruitment of staff to Gartree when salaries in the public sector compared to private prisons appear lower? For example, HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough has recently been recruiting for officers with a starting salary of £25,164 p.a. versus Gartree at £23,144 p.a. (Source: Indeed.co.uk).
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment, sector
Committee recommendation
62match
#14 - Twenty-Eighth Report - Efficiency in government
The Cabinet Office has overall responsibility for capability within the civil service and should ensure departments have the capability required to achieve planned efficiency programmes.33 Capability shortfalls have led to problems on numerous occasions, such as in the InterCity West Coast franchise competition in 2012, where a lack of expertise contributed to its collapse, and the Common Agricultural...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
60match
#3 - Twenty-Ninth Report - Whitehall preparations for EU Exit
Government continues to spend too much on consultants to undertake work that could be better done by civil servants, and does not do enough to utilise or develop skills and experience in-house. At the peak, more than 22,000 civil servants worked on EU exit, and at present that number is around 15,000. The civil service responded to this...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
60match
#16 - Forty-Eighth Report - Digital Services at the Border
The Department acknowledged that it has faced strong competition for people with the scarce technical skills required to deliver the programme, including from other government departments. The Department has now designed framework contracts with outside suppliers so that it is the responsibility of the suppliers to provide the right people with the right skills to support the programme.31...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
60match
#27 - Eleventh Report - Local auditor reporting on local government in England
We challenged the Department on the sustainability of firms auditing £100 billion a year of spending by local government while relying on only a few hundred auditors with the requisite skills. The Department and PSAA recognised the challenge which audit firms faced in having sufficient people to take on all the work required in auditing local authorities.77 The...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
60match
#17 - Twenty-Eighth Report - Efficiency in government
We asked the Cabinet Office whether it intends to reduce departments’ spending on consultants, which has been high and increasing following Brexit and COVID-19. The Cabinet Office told us it has a strong programme to try and cut the external spend, and that departments should only use external staff when they offer unique skills which would not be...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
60match
#24 - Twentieth Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20
Staff cuts will inevitably involve a quantity of associated costs, including redundancy costs, that the government will have to pay out. We questioned the Treasury as to what the total cost of these payments was likely to be, and although it explained that the number of required redundancies could be minimised by the large number of people who...
Matched on
terms: cost, public
Committee recommendation
56match
#17 - Twenty-Ninth Report - Whitehall preparations for EU Exit
There has been high turnover among staff working on EU Exit, particularly at senior levels. DExEU has had three Permanent Secretaries, the Border Delivery Group has had three Director-Generals, and there have been changes at Permanent Secretary grade in key Departments impacted by EU Exit, including Defra and HMRC.46 The Cabinet Office believes that the large majority of...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
56match
#16 - Twenty-Ninth Report - Whitehall preparations for EU Exit
At the peak, more than 22,000 civil servants worked on EU Exit, and at present the Cabinet Office reports that the number is around 15,000.43 The civil service responded to this demand by moving staff between departments. In particular two thirds of staff in DExEU came on secondment from other departments and many were drawn from the fast...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
56match
#2 - Thirty-second Report - Specialist Skills in the civil service
The civil service struggles to attract and retain specialist staff. Since 2010 the civil service has been subject to pay restrictions, which have limited its ability to offer progressive pay packages to staff. Areas such as Digital and Commercial have struggled to recruit and retain specialists because there is strong external competition for these skills. Functions have introduced...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
56match
#28 - Eleventh Report - Local auditor reporting on local government in England
PSAA highlighted that the age profile of key audit partners was a factor likely to increase the challenge which audit firms faced, in having sufficient staff.80 EY confirmed that it was facing a retirement issue for its key audit partners, with most having been in careers in local audit for 30 years or so, and in Grant Thornton...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
56match
#23 - 71st Report - Government’s use of external consultants
We asked the Cabinet Office when it expects to publish the new strategic workforce plan. It told us that there is no confirmed publication date at present, but it hoped the government would be able to release the plan within four months of when we took evidence (which was on 15 December 2025). The Cabinet Office told us...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
56match
#39 - DHSC's future plans contradict reducing consultant reliance, projecting £842 million spend by 2031.
However, DHSC’s actual plans seem to contradict this, indicating an ongoing reliance on external delivery partners to provide professional and technical skills and for specific assignments. It estimates that it will spend £842 million on consultancy services between 2023–24 and 2030–31, which represents 75% of its total day-to-day expenditure for those years.85 Such a reliance in a long-term...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
56match
#19 - Twenty-Ninth Report - Whitehall preparations for EU Exit
Government has made extensive use of consultants to support preparations for EU Exit, and is also doing so on Covid-19. This Committee has raised concerns in the past about government’s increasing spend on consultants, and on the gap between the Cabinet Office’s and departments’ data on spending across government.50 The Treasury explained that consultants had been used as...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
56match
#22 - Twenty-Second - Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts
The Department is also reliant on contractors on some of its maritime programmes, where between one sixth and one third of staff working on the Spearfish, Type 31e frigate and Fleet Solid Support programme teams are contractors. The Department puts this down to the burden of several major programmes being launched concurrently. It explained that it can draw...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
56match
#21 - Twenty-Second - Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts
Having the right people in place to manage suppliers is essential to ensure programme progress and to hold suppliers to account. However, many of the Department’s programmes were reliant on temporary contractors to fill these roles, especially in the Department’s digital projects and programmes. In two of these—New Style of IT (Deployed) and Morpheus—temporary contractors made up 79%...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
56match
#10 - Forty-Eighth Report - HMRC’s management of tax debt
In the past HMRC has been successful in securing additional funds from HM Treasury for time-limited recruitment, for example the additional funding secured at Budget 2020. But HMRC acknowledged that it had to make the case to HM Treasury every time it requested additional funding for this type of recruitment. Therefore, we do not see how HMRC can...
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment
Committee recommendation
56match
#12 - Thirty-Sixth Report - The Defence digital strategy
We asked how the Department intends to perform better than the market, which it needs to do if it is to overcome the lack of supply of digital specialists. The Department told us that it has focused heavily on its brand and giving people access to interesting and innovative areas of work to develop their skills.35 It found...
Matched on
terms: public
IMB recommendation
56match
Dungavel House IRC (2021)
Recruitment of members is a serious problem for the IMB. Dungavel IRC is remote, with negligible public transport links. There were three applicants in 2021 and they were interviewed in the summer. Two were recommended by the interviewers. By the end of 2021 neither had reached the stage of being able to visit the centre. We would recommend...
Matched on
terms: public, recruitment
Committee recommendation
52match
#23 - Twenty-Second - Improving the performance of major defence equipment contracts
Senior responsible owners (SROs) have responsibility for ensuring a programme meets its objectives. SROs oversee governance of programmes and steer them through key decision points, assisted by a delivery team. The NAO’s analysis showed that the median time in post for an SRO was 22 months, against median programme length of 77 months, reflecting the career path requirements...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
52match
#26 - Twentieth Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20
The Treasury told us that at this stage the challenge of how best to achieve these reductions is in the hands of individual departments. It explained that each department is itself best placed to understand the resourcing requirements needed to deliver its service programmes and objectives. It told us that the decision around how these headcount reductions will...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
52match
#25 - Twentieth Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20
This scale of these proposed cuts has the potential to bring about significant consequences for service delivery, both in regard to the quality and efficiency of delivery and the range of services it will be possible to provide. At the time we took evidence, the Treasury said that no work had been completed, either by the Treasury or...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
52match
#23 - Twentieth Report - Whole of Government Accounts 2019–20
In May 2022, the government announced its intention to cut 91,000 jobs from the civil service over the next three years, with the aim of returning to 2016 staffing levels.70 The 2021 Spending Review had already confirmed the need for savings of 5% against day- to-day central departmental budgets in 2024–25, however, these new cuts, which represent a...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
52match
#32 - Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health infrastructure
The Department stated that the Weybridge redevelopment programme is very high on its risk register and is part of its major programmes portfolio. As a result, it sees the programme as a priority area for staffing.59 The National Audit Office highlighted the challenges the Department is having recruiting staff to some of the more specialist technical, engineering and...
Matched on
terms: public
NAO recommendation
51match
Improving the performance of major equipment contracts
d) The Department should work with the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to address shortfalls in vital contract and programme management skills. Differing levels of remuneration and terms of employment between different parts of the Department, between the Department and other parts of government, and between government and other sectors create long-term skills gaps. Reliance on buying in...
Matched on
terms: sector
Committee recommendation
48match
#8 - Forty-Eighth Report - HMRC’s management of tax debt
HMRC told us it was planning to recruit more than 1,000 debt management staff in 2021–22, but it was starting with a staffing shortfall. At September 2021, HMRC’s debt management team had 300 fewer FTE staff than it had planned. It was awarded additional funding for 600 FTE staff for three years at Budget 2020. HMRC believed the...
Matched on
terms: public