'Lack of houses' adds to council staff shortage

Westmorland and Furness Council faces competition for staff from both the public and private sectors

A council is blaming a lack of affordable housing as a key reason for its struggle to recruit and retain staff.

Westmorland and Furness Council says competition from neighbouring authority Cumberland Council, as well as big businesses including the Barrow shipyard, is compounding the problem.

The Liberal Democrat-run authority said it has set up a new website and embraced flexible and hybrid working to try to attract more people.

But independent councillor Mary Robinson believes the authority will be hamstrung until "more funding is provided by the government".

In a report, the council said it has been faced with several recruitment challenges since local government reorganisation took place in April 2023.

It added the "rising cost of housing" can adversely impact the ability to attract staff, particularly from urban areas.

Other challenges mentioned include the area's ageing workforce, its rural geography, the volume of recruitment activity associated with being a new council and increasing competition for staff.

'It's nothing new'

Robinson, the leader of the Independent and Green group, believes the authority "faces some serious challenges".

She said: "We have sadly known about these problems for donkey years, there are real problems, but it's nothing new.

"I don't feel the council can do anything unless there's a real change of approach from the government, it's got to come from the top."

Robinson stated there were "serious issues" with rural housing and the lack of affordable, family-size homes.

She added: "There's so many buildings standing empty, but developers aren't going to focus on brownfield sites unless the government covers the costs."

'Better wages'

Judith Derbyshire, the council's member for housing, said the authority was "trying to make ourselves as attractive as possible for people to come and work for us".

She said: "We have an issue where we've got big employers in the region who, putting it bluntly, are offering better wages. But it's up to us to pull some of those skilled workers back."

The report adds: "It's inevitable Cumberland and Westmorland are drawing from the same talent pool.

"Meanwhile BAE are aiming to increase their workforce by 5,000."

The Local Government Association says 94% of UK councils are experiencing recruitment and retention difficulties "reflective" of Westmorland's, with challenges in social services, education and healthcare.