Dudley Council's top official has pointed to the massive HS2 rail project as a significant factor behind serious recruitment difficulties and a substantial financial overspend within the authority's core operations.
Watchdog Committee Confronts £1.2 Million Overspend
During a recent meeting of Dudley Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee, councillors examined an overspend of £1.2 million within the Resources and Financial Strategy department. The discussion centred on persistent staffing pressures, particularly within the revenue and benefits team, and the council's heavy reliance on expensive interim personnel to fill critical specialist roles.
HS2 Demand Creates Critical Shortage of Specialists
Council Chief Executive Balvinder Heran explained that major national infrastructure projects, specifically HS2, have dramatically intensified competition for skilled professionals. "Major projects like HS2 have put a call on those resources," Ms. Heran stated, highlighting roles such as building surveyors and quantity surveyors. "All councils in the West Midlands have been challenged to keep recruiting those. The market is really stretched with that capability."
This scarcity in the labour market has forced the council to pay premium rates for temporary staff, a situation identified as unsustainable for long-term financial health.
Interim Staff: A Costly 'Short-Term Fix'
Councillor Steve Clark, the cabinet member for resources, acknowledged the council had been spending "more than we should" on interim appointments. He described these hires as a necessary but costly short-term solution. "Interims are too high a cost for us to bear in the long-term," Cllr Clark warned the committee.
The council is now actively pursuing a strategy to cultivate a more stable, permanent workforce. This follows a review by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), which aims to ensure the council's structures are "fit for purpose" and attractive to high-calibre professionals seeking long-term careers.
Strategic Shift Towards Permanent Recruitment and Training
Faced with a hyper-competitive market, the authority is exploring alternative methods to secure talent. Ms. Heran outlined a dual approach: enhancing in-house training programmes for careers in areas like social care and law, while simultaneously evaluating the council's competitiveness in the broader job market for technical specialists.
"The intention is to move to a stable, permanent workforce and reduce our reliance on interim appointments," Cllr Clark affirmed. However, he sounded a note of caution regarding future finances, predicting funding gaps in the years ahead despite presenting a balanced budget for the 2026/27 financial year. He emphasised the need for the council to maintain a "strong grip on everything it did" to ensure future stability.
