Need to know
A new report said that the NICS is failing to demonstrate value for money
A damning report on the Northern Ireland Civil Service was published on Tuesday(Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)
Everything you need to know:
- The Northern Ireland Civil Service has failed to deliver the necessary pace of reform to ensure public money is being spent effectively. Auditor General Dorinnia Carville noted that most improvement goals set in 2020 remain either partially achieved or completely ignored.
- By early 2025, the organisation reported nearly 5,500 vacant posts, representing roughly one-fifth of its total workforce. This marks a fourfold increase in vacancies since 2019, creating what experts call an “unsustainable” staffing gap.
- To keep services running, the NICS has doubled its use of temporary agency workers to nearly 5,000 people over the last six years. This reliance is criticised as inefficient because agency fees and constant retraining costs prevent true value for money.
- Staff absence rates have climbed to an average of 13.4 days per year, which is significantly higher than in the UK Home Civil Service. These absences cost taxpayers nearly £49 million annually, with mental health issues cited as the primary cause.
- Even without including recent pay raises, the annual NICS pay bill has surged to over £1.27 billion. The report warns that without urgent structural changes, the public cannot be sure this massive expenditure is yielding quality results.
- It currently takes an average of seven months to hire a new employee, a pace described as slow and cumbersome. The system still relies on broad, general competitions rather than targeting the specific, modern skills the service actually needs.
- There is currently no service-wide plan for managing staff, and departmental strategies aren’t expected to be finished until 2028. This lack of direction makes it unclear if the thousands of vacant posts are even necessary or if the service can afford to fill them.
- Nearly half of all vacancies are concentrated in the Department for Communities, largely due to a massive contract expansion for UK-wide benefit services. This high-pressure environment has led to rapid staff turnover and a constant “churn” of employees moving between roles.
- The Auditor General emphasised that senior leaders must take urgent action to “rightsize” the workforce and embrace new technologies. While a new five-year “People Strategy” has been launched, the report suggests that delivery is far more important than paperwork.
- The FDA Trade Union argues that the report overlooks the immense pressure caused by the pandemic and the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive. However, the Audit Office maintains that these external challenges make the need for internal reform more urgent than ever.
Read the full story: Civil Service failing to demonstrate value for money according to Audit Office
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