The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has now joined wider calls for a long-term plan to improve resilience.
As per a new Local Government Association (LGA) report, environmental teams in councils across the country are facing ongoing problems finding and keeping staff. This is then exacerbated by increasing demand for specialist skills in areas such as food safety, housing, climate mitigation and public health.
The existing workforce is also getting older, and retiring staff are becoming harder to replace at the same speed. There is now an urgent need for a ‘co-ordinated, long-term approach to workforce resilience’, with the LGA and Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) striking a deal to work in closer collaboration.
This will include roundtable and engagement sessions, workshops, and other events involving councils, universities, and specialists from across disciplines and regions. Meanwhile, a new Head of Environmental Health Workforce Programme has been appointed, Joanna Seymour – previously Director of Partnerships and Development at fuel poverty organisation Warm Wales.
‘We welcome the publication of this latest work by the LGA, which provides vital insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the environmental health workforce in local authority settings,’ said Seymour. ‘By strengthening our partnership, we can bring together shared expertise, improve the evidence base and create clearer, more accessible routes into the profession. This collaboration is a crucial step in building a resilient, confident and future‑ready workforce that continues to protect our communities.’
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