UNITED KINGDOM
The UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has been accused of being either incompetent or an unattractive place to work after it failed to fill a senior science role following more than 12 months of trying.
Shadow Minister for Science, Chi Onwurah (pictured) said it was astounding that the Department had been unable to recruit a Chief Scientific Adviser since efforts began in earnest in May 2018.
The part-time position has now been advertised twice and offers a pro rata salary of £120,000 (A$218,000).
It has now been six-and-a-half months since the MHCLG has had a Chief Scientific Adviser, a role the Department has described as “one of the most senior and influential positions within the Department”.
It is believed that only six qualified candidates applied in the first round of recruitment last year and none made it through the interview stage.
Ms Onwurah said it beggared belief that recruitment for a Chief Scientific Adviser, who would provide scientific evidence to support the Department’s policy and decision-making, was taking so long.
“MHCLG has many scientific and engineering challenges, from the testing of flammable cladding to the planning permissions for mobile networks and the effective provision of local digital services,” Ms Onwurah said.
“It is astounding that they have been unable to recruit anyone to fill the role for a year now.”
The second round of recruitment began in November last year and made specific reference to the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy in June 2017, which claimed 72 lives.
It said that one of the successful candidate’s key responsibilities would be to support the Department’s post-Grenfell building safety program.
Ms Onwurah said the vacancy showed that “either MHCLG is an incompetent recruiter or its organisation is proving unattractive to scientists and engineers — either way, action is needed”.
London, 1 June 2019
