Select committee: Public Services Committee
Conclusion 9
1st Report - Fit for the future? Rethinking the public services workforce
Published 19 Jul 2022
Paragraph 60
Public Services Committee Designing a public services workforce fit for the future All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Technology has great potential to ensure the sustainability of the public services. Government departments should conduct horizon scanning exercises to examine how technology can improve forecasting and planning, improve efficiency, and reduce demand for the public services within their portfolio. This must not be limited to short-term cost saving measures but should consider service-user experience and improving public services in the long-term. Horizon scanning should consider digital literacy, inclusion and bias, and basic infrastructure issues, and should bring forward feasible, realistic opportunities for technological innovation.
From: Public Services Committee, 1st Report - Fit for the future? Rethinking the public services workforce, paragraph 60, 19 July 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 7 November 2022 (deadline 13 October 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with all the Committee's recommendations", while its detailed responses record differing positions on some, including pensions, recruitment targets and the apprenticeship target.
- On pensions, the government "notes the Committee's recommendation" for a comprehensive review and says the objectives "will be adequately met under the current system" of public service pension schemes.
- On the Public Sector Apprenticeship Target, it does "not currently have plans to reinstate the target" but asks the public sector to continue to report annually on apprenticeship starts, and will publish that data.
- On recruitment timeframes, it would "exercise caution in setting a 'target' for all recruitment" and instead recommends requiring public bodies to set out plans for improving time to recruit and how this will be measured.
- On social care, it commits to investing "at least £500 million" in the adult social care workforce, with a universal Knowledge and Skills Framework and "hundreds of thousands of training places and qualifications" over the next 3 years.