Recruitment and retention plans
Absence of clear implementation timetables with measurable deliverables for recruitment and retention strategies.
398 items
9 sources
8 inquiries
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
87match
#3 - Set out detailed plan for unprecedented NHS productivity gains, addressing staff retention.
NHSE displays a remarkable complacency about the realisation of future NHS productivity improvements, which, if achieved, would be unprecedented. According to official ONS measures, long-term productivity gains in the NHS averaged 0.6% a year over the period 1996–97 to 2018–19. But productivity subsequently fell and has yet to recover fully. The NHS has 19% more staff compared to...
Matched on
terms: plan, retention
Committee recommendation
87match
#12 - Recruitment and retention of government vets significantly challenged by mental health, pay, and conditions.
APHA explained that difficulties in recruiting and retaining government vets are not unique to APHA or the UK. Key factors include: mental health issues relating to activities such as culling animals; pay and conditions; and working hours. APHA set out a number of strategies it has put in place to improve recruitment and retention of vets, including using...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
86match
#2 - Develop a workforce plan to ensure sufficient work coaches for the new jobs and careers service.
We are concerned that the Department will continue to not have enough work coaches to meet the growing demand for support. The shortage of work coaches has been caused by the Department securing inadequate funding from HM Treasury and by recruitment and retention challenges. Looking ahead, the demand for work coach support is expected to continue to increase...
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment, retention
Inquiry recommendation
83match
8 - Develop recruitment and retention strategy
The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust should identify a recruitment and retention strategy aimed at achieving a balanced and sustainable workforce with the requisite skills and experience. This should include, but not be limited to, seeking links with one or more other centre(s) to encourage development of specialist and/or academic practice whilst offering opportunities in...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
83match
#14 - Significant recruitment and retention challenges hinder government's adoption of AI and digital skills.
70% of government bodies responding to the NAO’s survey identified difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff with AI skills as a barrier to AI adoption.31 In January 2025, the government’s State of digital government review set out the digital and data skills challenge faced by government, reporting difficulties in recruitment (around 50% of roles advertised in civil service...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
83match
#8 - Recruitment and retention challenges contribute to work coach shortfalls in jobcentres.
The Department has also had fewer work coaches than it has had funding for, which it attributed to factors such as challenges with recruiting and retaining staff. The turnover rate for the Department’s executive officers working in jobcentres, including work coaches, was 8.5% in 2023–24.12 The Department told us that it takes a national and local approach to...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
83match
#47 - Develop comprehensive workforce strategy to improve recruitment, retention, and training across children's social care.
The Department for Education should develop a workforce strategy for children’s social care setting out how it will improve recruitment, retention and training across the children’s social care workforce, including social workers, residential care workers, personal advisers, educational psychologists, health visitors, and personal assistants. This should include measures such as increased pay, bursaries for studying and training, and...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
77match
Woodhill (2022)
To work with colleagues across government departments to develop a meaningful plan for the recruitment and retention of prison staff.
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
77match
Wetherby (2022)
Recruitment and retention of officers is a serious problem. What are the short- and long-term plans to address this?
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
74match
#8 - NHS England lacks detailed plan and cost estimates for workforce reduction.
We observed that the scale of change was bigger in NHS England than the Department, and so asked NHS England about its plans to reduce its workforce. It confirmed that it did not currently have a detailed plan to achieve that reduction. It told us it that it had implemented a recruitment freeze, which it expected to reduce...
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment
IMB recommendation
72match
Gartree (2022)
Can the Prison Service confirm what are the attraction, recruitment, and retention plan for prison officers to ensure that staffing levels at Gartree do not suffer because of the new private sector prisons due to open in close proximity to Gartree, which may appear to offer more attractive employment?
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
72match
Wymott (2024)
Does HMPPS have any plans to address the issue of recruitment and retention of officers within the prison service? The Board is concerned about the current imbalance between experienced officers and new recruits.
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
70match
#9 - Set out a clear plan for recruiting and retaining Ministry of Defence cyber and digital skills.
The Ministry of Defence should set out a clear plan and timetable for recruiting and retaining additional cyber and digital skills, such as adopting ideas from the Haythornthwaite Review and through direct partnerships with private IT companies or targeting suitably skilled individuals on a part or full-time basis. (Recommendation, Paragraph 62) Building homeland resilience
Matched on
terms: plan
HMICFRS recommendation
69match
Efficiency spotlight report: The impact of recruitment and retention on the criminal justice system
Invest more in understanding why staff left and use this information to inform future changes to improve recruitment and retention
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
69match
#2 - Develop a whole-system strategy to recruit and retain school and college teachers.
The Department has no clear or coherent approach bringing together its various initiatives on teacher recruitment and retention. In 2024–25, the Department had a £700 million package, excluding pay and pensions, for recruitment and retention initiatives which the Department has allocated in a way to make as much progress as possible. This includes bursaries and scholarships to recruit...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
68match
Guys Marsh (2020)
Recruitment and retention of competent and experienced prison officers is a challenge. How are plans for mentoring and professional development schemes progressing?
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
66match
#7 - Department lacks clear baseline and milestones for 6,500 teacher recruitment pledge
We asked the Department what baseline it was using to measure whether 6,500 additional teachers had been recruited. It told us it had not set a year as a baseline, but that the number of teachers would be more than before the pledge had started and that it was working on the detail as part of the Spending...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
66match
#11 - DWP personalised work coach support plans lack clear strategy and evidence base.
We were encouraged to hear that DWP wants work coaches to have more time with claimants and to deliver more personalised support. Coaching that is tailored to the aspirations of the service user and that seeks to identify the unique barriers people face will be far more effective than the current support provided. However, work coaches are already...
Matched on
terms: plan
Committee recommendation
66match
#10 - Publish Warm Homes Plan demonstrating career focus, tailored messaging, and training support.
The Warm Homes Plan is crucial for retrofit workforce planning and should be published as soon as possible. It must set out a clear framework of responsibilities to ensure joined-up delivery. It should demonstrate the Government is putting good quality, well-paid careers, rather than just jobs, at the heart of its workforce planning. It should also demonstrate the...
Matched on
terms: plan
Committee recommendation
66match
#9 - Capita's staffing levels require replanning due to delayed IT automation and missed milestones
Capita is planning to have 33 fewer staff in its first year running the Scheme than the 332 MyCSP had at the start of 2025.16 When we queried whether that would be enough to provide the right levels of service to customers, the Cabinet Office told us that it had expected fewer staff to be required as increased...
Matched on
terms: plan
IMB recommendation
65match
Brook House (2020)
Keep staff recruitment and retention as a priority.
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
65match
Onley (2021)
Ways should be explored as to how to retain good long-standing officers in HMPPS. We see all too often good officers leaving to pursue careers outside HMPPS due to better progression and increased salaries. These losses unfortunately lead to more new, inexperienced officers at HMP Onley. As mentioned in last year’s report, increasing the local pay allowance to...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
65match
Eastwood Park (2021)
What action is being taken to improve officer recruitment and retention at Eastwood Park?
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
65match
Yarl’s Wood (2022)
Keep staff recruitment and retention as a priority.
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
65match
Winchester (2022)
What measures can the minister outline to improve staff recruitment, motivation and retention?
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
65match
Wormwood Scrubs (2023)
HMPPS should outline actions to improve recruitment, turnover, and retention of staff.
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
65match
Brinsford (2024)
Recruitment and retention of staff across the Prison Service.
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
HMICFRS recommendation
64match
FRS 2023-25 CoC Recommendations: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service
Cause of concern: The service lacks adequate organisational level plans that set out and bring together current and future workforce and skills requirements. The service doesn’t have in place adequate service-level processes to direct its recruitment and succession planning work. This means that the service can’t be assured that it will have enough staff with the right skills...
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment
NAO recommendation
63match
Progress in improving mental health services in England
b) Either separately or as a distinct part of the overall NHS workforce plan due in 2023, DHSC and NHSE should publish a longer-term mental health workforce recruitment and retention strategy and a costed plan, that reflects the volume and skills required to meet future service ambitions. They will need to engage closely with HM Treasury in this...
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment, retention
Committee recommendation
62match
#23 - Department demonstrates agility for urgent issues but faces specialist recruitment challenges
We asked the Department if it was agile enough to respond to emerging issues such as changing tariff rates affecting UK businesses. The Department told us it understands the importance of ‘surging’ resource to where it is needed most urgently, and said it has been able to flex resources across teams. The Department also told us it has...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
62match
#41 - Insufficient finance team experience for complex accounts necessitated recruitment of hundreds of staff.
The second key reason the Department gave for the delay in the completion of its 2023–24 accounts was that the finance team who were tasked with producing the accounts previously worked in DIT and had to understand the complex balances which the Department inherited from BEIS.67 DIT had total operating expenditure in 2022–23 of £588 million across its...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
62match
#12 - Department's teacher recruitment targets overly focus on initial training routes
We were interested to understand why the Department only has targets for those starting initial teacher training in primary and secondary schools, when this is just one of several entry routes into teaching.27 In the year to November 2023, 41% of secondary teachers entering the workforce were newly qualified teachers, with 39% returners to the state-funded sector, 13%...
Matched on
terms: recruitment
Committee recommendation
62match
#4 - Set out plans for building and retaining public sector infrastructure investment skills
The government’s ambitions for infrastructure investment are at risk of not being achieved because of sector specific skills shortages. Using private finance to support investment requires public bodies to develop and maintain specialist commercial and financial skills. The NAO has previously reported that contracting authorities often had limited in- house skills available to make critical decisions on complex...
Matched on
terms: plan
Committee recommendation
62match
#2 - Develop a comprehensive plan to increase cadet numbers, ensuring diversity, volunteer support, and safeguarding.
The government’s plans to increase the number of cadets by 30% by 2030 face several significant barriers. There are potentially great benefits for young people in expanding the cadet forces, which will mean increasing both the size and number of cadet units. Cadet forces can enhance social mobility and give confidence and structure to the most disadvantaged young...
Matched on
terms: plan
IMB recommendation
60match
Onley (2020)
Given the competition for jobs in the local area (Warwickshire Police, HS2, etc.), it is felt that the local pay allowance at Onley should be increased to the London level to support recruitment and retention of staff needs to be urgently addressed, in order to help the governor with staff retention.
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
60match
Downview (2020)
Despite being raised in three previous annual reports, the London weighting issue and its impact on recruitment and retention in the education department has still not been resolved and remains a real concern (see section 7.1). Given that this issue continues to have such a significant impact on the performance of the education department in the prison, is...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
60match
Garth (2023)
How and when does the Minister propose to tackle the urgent issue of uniformed staff recruitment and retention? Specifically, it is strongly recommended that applicants who are interested in joining the staff at Garth should visit the prison before interview and should be interviewed by a panel that includes senior staff at the prison. This should help ensure...
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
60match
Feltham (2023)
The lack of staff in the Probation Service negatively impacts sentence and resettlement planning. This results in more work for prison staff. What steps are being taken to affect recruitment to the Probation Service?
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment
IMB recommendation
60match
Altcourse (2023)
Recruitment and retention of staff have been major concerns this year, particularly in the context of the transfer to Sodexo. These issues could undermine the stability and safety of the prison. Can the Board be reassured therefore that the recruitment and retention of staff remain the highest priority?
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
IMB recommendation
60match
Garth (2024)
The whole process of recruitment and retention needs to be addressed with the Governor and senior management being included in the process and able to determine suitability of individual applicants for this prison.
Matched on
terms: recruitment, retention
Detention investigation recommendation
60match
Independent Investigation into Concerns about Brook House Immigration Removal Centre - Rec R7
G4S managers should undertake a comprehensive review of matters affecting staff retention at Brook House including remuneration, shift patterns and working hours and G4S needs to develop plans to address the matters arising from such a review. (To be completed as a matter of urgency)
Matched on
terms: plan, retention
IMB recommendation
57match
Feltham (2025)
Address staff absence and improve retention.
Matched on
terms: retention
NAO recommendation
57match
Planting Trees in England
Defra and the Forestry Commission should: a) set clear milestones for nursery and forestry workforce capacity from 2025 onwards based on the long-term trajectory for tree-planting set by the net zero strategy, and use these milestones to provide a target for these aspects to be achieved between now and 2025;
Matched on
terms: plan
Inquiry recommendation
56match
COVID-M3.5 - Scale Up Urgent and Emergency Care
The UK government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, in conjunction with organisations responsible for delivering services, should plan for surge capacity in urgent and emergency care during a pandemic. Plans must ensure that there is sufficient workforce capacity and the ability to surge, including the number and type of staff required, recruitment and training provision....
Matched on
terms: plan, recruitment
Committee recommendation
53match
#22 - Insufficient capacity and capability within the Building Safety Regulator is delaying remediation efforts
We heard concerns about insufficient capacity and capability at the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), which oversees the safety and standards of buildings over 18 metres. The HBF told us that the BSR was continuing to hold up development, including self-remediation work, for buildings over 18 metres. In written evidence, the HBF reported that applications to the BSR 31...
Matched on
terms: plan
Committee recommendation
53match
#3 - Explain how Digital and AI Roadmap reforms will resolve public sector skills gaps.
There are persistent digital skills shortages in the public sector and DSIT’s plans to address the skills gap may not be enough. 70% of government bodies responding to the NAO’s survey identified difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff with AI skills as a barrier to AI adoption. In 2024, around 50% of roles advertised in civil service digital...
Matched on
terms: plan
Committee recommendation
53match
#7 - DWP consistently had fewer work coaches than estimated need across jobcentres.
For the first six months of 2024–25, the Department assessed it would need on average 18,900 work coaches but had funding for between 17,600 and 18,000.9 The Department told us it forecasts demand on a six-monthly cycle but plans resource over a longer timeframe – funding for 2024–25 was originally set in November 2021. It also said it...
Matched on
terms: plan
Committee recommendation
53match
#12 - Manage work coach capacity better by modelling demand and developing prioritisation frameworks.
We recommend that DWP looks at how to better manage work coach capacity, including modelling how its planned Jobcentre reforms will change demand for work coach time and capacity. In response to this inquiry, it should set out: • a summary of this modelling; • its plans for meeting the demands of the new service with the available...
Matched on
terms: plan
Committee recommendation
53match
#8 - Instruct the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to tackle uncertainty and encourage retrofit skills investment.
In our Report on retrofitting homes for net zero we concluded that there was a reluctance to invest in courses that were associated with, among other things, uncertainty and weak promotion of careers. The Office for Clean Energy Jobs should work with its stakeholder community to tackle that uncertainty and, thereby, encourage investment in, and the promotion of,...
Matched on
terms: plan
IMB recommendation
53match
Garth (2021)
Staff retention problems throughout HMPPS have increased throughout this period in large part because of the erosion of staff salaries and conditions of service. This matter needs to be urgently addressed and rectified.
Matched on
terms: retention