Almost 9,000 staff leave Environment Agency following cuts and low morale
EMBARGO: 00:01 Monday 25th March
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Government accused of turning the Environment Agency into “leaky bucket of low morale” following real-terms cuts and sewage scandal
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Estimated one in five staff left the agency in 2017 following real-terms cuts
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More staff leave than join the Environment Agency in four of the last eight years
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Recent recruitment drive only balances out soaring leaving rates
Data obtained and analysed by the Liberal Democrats has revealed the staggering leaving rates of staff at the Environment Agency.
Since 2016, 8,836 staff have left the Environment Agency. These leavers all but wipe out the government’s recent recruitment drive.
The Environment Agency faced a real term cut each year between 2017-2019 and again, between 2021-2023.
Following the first round of cuts, a staggering 1,988 left the agency in 2017/2018, leaving a record turnover rate of minus 1076 staff. In that year, the agency employed around 10,000 people, meaning an estimated one in five staff left.
Since 2019, there were two consecutive years where the leaving rate was higher than the joining rate at the Environment Agency. Between 2020-2022, there was a deficit of 649 staff.
Last year, complaints of low pay, understaffing and low-morale surfaced from Environment Agency staff. In particular, their emergency response teams said they were stretched too thin to protect communities from environmental dangers.
One newspaper reported an Environment Agency staff member: “It’s almost impossible to retain experienced people. Just in my team alone we’ve lost almost 100 years worth of experience in the past three years.”
Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:
“Under this government, the Environment Agency has become a leaky bucket of low-morale. The only people celebrating these damning figures will be the polluting water firms, who get away scot free for their sewage spills.
“Communities are left to suffer from floods and sewage in their rivers because Ministers slashed the Environment Agency to the bone. They have overworked and underpaid staff, because the environment has never been this government's priority.
“There is a direct correlation between massive Conservative cuts to the agency and an exodus of staff. No wonder polluting firms are getting away with their environmental vandalism.
“You simply can’t trust the Conservative party on the environment. The public will see right through their pathetic and last ditch attempts to recruit more staff before an election.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Parliamentary question by Tim Farron MP
Environment Agency strike over pay - BBC
Moral at Environment Agency - The i
