News alert / Scottish government workforce challenges

The Scottish government needs better data on the size, cost and skills of the workforce in more than 100 public bodies if it is to deliver services differently rather than doing more with less, according to Audit Scotland. A briefing from the audit body sets out the growth of the Scottish workforce since devolution, from fewer than 150,000 full-time employees in 1999/00 to more than 245,000 by 2022/23 – an increase of around 65%. The NHS accounts for two-thirds of the public workforce and workforce costs. Stephen Boyle, auditor general for Scotland, said: ‘Significant reform of the public sector, including its workforce, is needed to protect services over the long term. That means better workforce planning and wider changes to how staff work within and across organisations. An approach to reform purely focused on controlling workforce numbers will not address workforce pressures and is unlikely to balance the public finances.