Watchdog warns of crisis as staff quit public sector

Thousands of public-sector workers leave their jobs each year because they are overwhelmed by government targets, bureaucracy and paperwork, according to a damning report by public-spending watchdogs.

A wave of criticism of public services – including schools, hospitals, police and social services – from politicians and media commentators is also contributing to a crisis in staffing levels, the Audit Commission said.

The report warned that stress was pushing many people out of their jobs. Surveys had shown a faster rise in stress levels among public-sector staff than their counterparts in private businesses.

The auditors also called for a "more intelligent conversation" about the use of private contractors in public services. They warned that a lack of understanding about private-sector involvement was also driving staff away at a time when the proportion of private-sector staff working across a range of services was increasing.

The researchers said that low levels of recruitment among young people threatened a "demographic time-bomb" in public services, with 27 per cent of the workforce aged 50 or above.

The commission criticised managers for failing to investigate why staff left and said that the huge expenditure on government recruitment campaigns should be matched by efforts to ensure that employees remained in their jobs.

The Audit Commission survey, which included a series of focus groups and 300 one-to-one interviews with people who had left public-sector jobs, concluded that respect and the ability to make a difference was more important to employees than pay in persuading people to stay.

Sir Andrew Foster, controller of the Audit Commission, said high staff turnover was "grossly inefficient".

He said: "There is a very major problem and this is particularly the case for London and the South-east. There are a massive number of things that could be done by local management across public services to recruit and train people more effectively."

Most people who left the public sector blamed paperwork and bureaucracy. The next most common reasons for leaving were lack of resources and heavy workloads, the report revealed.

Almost a quarter of those who quit said that better pay would have persuaded them to stay, although 14 per cent of respondents said that nothing would have altered their decision to leave.