Scrutiny officials are calling on government to reconsider a decision not to tighten up their rent-free accommodation policy which had seen free housing worth £30,000 awarded to some senior workers.
In a report examining recruitment practices earlier this year, the government’s spending watchdog had warned that offering accommodation perks on an “inconsistent” basis ran the risk of “inequity amongst keyworkers and their colleagues, resulting in reduced morale and potential grievances”.
Responding to Comptroller and Auditor General Lynn Pamment’s findings last month, Chief Executive Dr Andrew McLaughlin and Chief People Officer Lesley Darwin said there was “broad agreement” with many of the watchdog’s conclusions, but they did not agree to “ensure a consistent policy is applied” when it came to accommodation, stating that this was “on the balance of risk and administrative effort”.
They added in their response that “departments will be reminded of their obligation to work in line” with policy, but said that Chief Officers or their delegates will still be able to “make exceptions” in line with the Public Finances Manual – the set of rules governing the spending of taxpayer money which all civil servants must abide by.
Yesterday, the Public Accounts Committee – the panel of politicians responsible for scrutinising how public money is spent and saved – slammed the response, saying it “highlights an acceptance on the part of Government that an inconsistency in the application of this policy is a tolerable risk”.
“The provision of accommodation for key workers requires a robust and fair approach to mitigate against the very concerns raised by Government over the non-implementation of this recommendation. The PAC understands from the work done by the C&AG that this issue was a particular matter of contention, with the current policy creating a perception of favourable treatment,” the panel explained.
“Noting that Chief Officers can make exemptions creates further concerns around the equitable administration of the policy. The PAC requires evidence of where these exemptions are agreed and moderated to ensure fairness and affordability.”
They added that “the principle made within the recommendation is incredibly important”, going on to “urge Government to revisit this response and review the level of risk associated with not taking forward this recommendation”.
Elsewhere in her report, Ms Pamment criticised the Government for not having “framework of modern recruitment processes” in place to sufficiently mitigate the risk of “bad hires” and called for improvement.
As well as improving recruitment practices, other recommendations included more structured training and development opportunities for staff.
She also recommended that a “robust strategy” be documented and actioned sufficiently early to mitigate risks to the successful appointment of a permanent Government CEO.
In her report, she revealed that £300,000 of taxpayer cash had been spent on recruiting a CEO over last four years – without a successful permanent appointment being made since 2022.
The report was published after Express last year revealed that over £60,000 was spent on the recruitment process for a permanent Government CEO which was abandoned after just two months.
The watchdog said at the time that the lack of stability had created a “number of risks” for the organisation, including decreasing employee morale and a focus on short-term goals over long-term strategic objectives.
PAC Chair Deputy Inna Gardiner said that her committee was pleased there had been broad agreement with many of the recommendations but that concerns remained – particularly over timelines to implement them.
She said that developing clear workforce plans – “especially within Health” – should be a “key focus” for Government, given the impact staffing can have on the delivery of services.
She added that her panel remain “concerned that the Government does not appear to have a firm recruitment strategy in place for the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive Officer“.
“As a Committee, we will be following up on these recommendations to ensure they remain on the Government’s agenda and receive the attention we believe they deserve,” she said.