Recommendation 14

UKSV has been under-staffed to meet customer demand forecasts since its inception in 2017, which has had negative impacts on its performance. In April 2021, when demand surged following the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, UKSV had 669 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff against the 985 FTE it expected to need to meet forecast demand during 2021–22, a shortfall of 316 FTE (32%). Despite seeking to recruit throughout the financial year, by March 2022 UKSV still had a 237 FTE shortfall against its requirement for that year. Based on customer demand forecasts for 2022–23, UKSV estimated it would require 1,145 staff for that year but by November 2022, UKSV had increased its FTE headcount number to only 877 (23% short of estimated need).34 The gap between actual staff and the forecast need for staff is shown at Figure 1. 29 C&AG’s Report, Figure 2 30 Q 12 31 C&AG’s Report, para 1.9 and Figure 6 32 Q 30 33 Q 34 34 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.9, 2.10 and Figure 9 14 The performance of UK Security Vetting Figure 1 – UK Security Vetting’s actual headcount (FTEs) vs forecast required headcount, April 2021 to November 2022 Source: C&AG’s Report, Figure 9 on Page 32