Working at the frontline of austerity: The Ensuring Council and Workforce Planning

This research looks at APSE’s Ensuring Council model through the prism of workforce planning. The Ensuring Council model, is built upon principles that embed good stewardship of local economies, retaining core capacity, collaboration and social justice. We feel these are also the guiding principles of local authorities as employers.

Grasping the context of workforce planning as a strategic tool, working to deliver outcomes for local people, is essential. Effective workforce planning can embrace the principles of the APSE Ensuring Council model, embedding a culture of stewarding our local economies, taking a collaborative approach to services and building and retaining a workforce with core capacity, as well delivering on the principles of social justice. It ought not to be consigned to the ‘too hard to do’ pile; instead, workforce planning should be integral to how local authorities plan and deliver services.

Ultimately, this report argues that effective workforce planning can help to future-proof public service delivery by opening up a collective dialogue about the future shape and scope of public service, and the role of local employees and communities. It can improve the flexibility and resilience of local authority responses to the changing demands of communities and local businesses, as well as ensuring that support is provided at times of crisis or emergency.

This research was led by Professor Steven Griggs and Dr Melvin Wingfield of De Montfort University, for APSE Northern members.

Download Research (pdf)