Departments will struggle to get access to the specialist non-UK-national workers they need if the government does not include a public sector specific skills deal as part of the Brexit negotiations, a report has warned.
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy said there were around 40,000 EU nationals working in public administration and defence, but it suggested that key posts would become difficult to fill with new EU staff if a toughened post-Brexit immigration system did not include flexibilities for public sector professionals.
Cipfa’s Brexit Advisory Commission for Public Services said other politically-viable options – such as free movement for people with a job offer and points-based system – did not work for many public sector jobs because of the low pay attached to them.
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However, in addition to problems with maintaining a supply of EU staff to fill lower-paid roles in social care and education, the advisory commission said ministers should expect problems with the recruitment of more specialist roles, such as regulation for agriculture and aviation.
Citing a 2017 Institute for Government survey, the commission said there were “significant concerns” about a shortage of expertise in key specialist areas that are currently managed by EU institutions.
“European bodies have extensive regulatory roles in areas such as agriculture and fisheries, human and veterinary medicines, aviation, environmental standards and chemicals,” it said.
“This is likely to create demand for a small number of key specialists. Some will be employed by the UK government while others will need to be taken on by the devolved administrations.”
Former Liberal Democrat MP Julia Goldsworthy, who chairs the Cipfa commission, said there was a wealth of evidence to suggest that ending the freedom of movement for EU workers would “result in a seismic change” for public services in terms of their ability to recruit and retain vital staff.
“The UK government must not decide upon their approach to the workforce settlement without seriously taking stock of how best to support the public sector,” she said.
“Our evidence suggests that a bespoke deal seems like the best option available, and so we hope this is pursued.”
Cipfa is urging the government not to rush into a broad-brush workforce deal with the EU, but to consider extending the formal Brexit transition period to provide an opportunity to reach a solution that reflects the needs of the public sector.
Its proposals for a “flexible” public sector deal would take in highly-skilled medical and academic posts, as well as care workers, and be capable of addressing regional skills shortages.
Despite its “40,000” ballpark figure of EU staff working in public administration and defence, Cipfa pointed to a survey by the Leave Watch campaign group, which is chaired by Labour MP Chukka Umunna, that found most Whitehall departments were unable to say how many EU staff they had. Of the four that could provide a figure, the Department for Health and Social Care had the highest number, at 816.