Report finds ‘cracking technology’ hampering National Crime Agency – PublicTechnology

A Spotlight on Corruption investigation has found that failure to address serious issues surrounding the payment could have “potentially catastrophic” consequences for the NCA’s ability to protect the UK from threats.

The National Crime Agency is “on its knees” due to problems with recruitment, retention, progression and pay, an anti-corruption charity has warned.

Spotlight on Corruption has published a report – based on the NCA’s own reports and submissions to the agency’s independent pay review body – which shows that the consequences of failing to address pay issues are “potentially catastrophic” given the responsibility to protect the public from hostile threats, fraud and corruption, and serious organised crime.

The review also warns of “creaking technology”, pointing to a 2021 report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Police and Fire and Rescue Services, which concluded that IT was “slow and inefficient” and that the agency had struggled to “plan and implement complex projects such as IT improvements due to a lack of long-term capital funding”.

The report found that the NCA’s pay compares poorly with its counterparts, being paid less than police at all levels, with senior positions paid 21%-25% less and less than other parts of the civil service. For example, the NCA’s head of digital and technical command is paid 21.3% less than an equivalent position in the civil service, while a senior procurement manager at the agency is paid 20.8% less than in the civil service. And the NCA’s salary is less than half of what officers can earn in the private sector.

Spotlight on Corruption has called on the government to urgently review the NCA’s organizational status to ensure that the organization is no longer subject to a hiring freeze and budget cuts.

It also wants the government to invest more money in the NCA so it can implement a “rapid and ambitious” wage reform and transform its technological capacity.

Nearly one in 10 roles at the agency are unfilled – compared with the public sector average of one in 25 – and the organisation is suffering from a “major brain drain”, the report says. The organisation has a turnover rate of 8%, but the report warns this is much higher for senior managers (25%) and lawyers (30%).

Amid recruitment and retention challenges, spending on temporary staff and consultants has increased 369% since 2015-16 and morale is “close to rock bottom”, the report said.

In the latest Civil Service People Survey, the NCA ranked bottom of 105 organisations for satisfaction with resources and workload (62%). Only 36% of the agency’s respondents said they had the tools they needed to do their job effectively – the organisation’s next lowest score was 48%. Real pay has fallen by 16.3% since the agency was established in 2013-14; this year’s proposed 5% pay rise will reduce that by 13.9%.

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The NCA was among the organisations with the lowest performance in salary satisfaction, with the report saying that salary stagnation is the “root cause” of the agency’s recruitment, retention and morale problems.

More than half of NCA officers are stuck at the bottom of their pay scale, with no chance of salary or career progression, according to the report. The agency is facing equal pay claims of around £200m over its “unfair and divisive” pay structures.

Dr Susan Hawley, the charity’s chief executive and co-author of the report, said: “If the government wants the NCA to be at the forefront of tackling the range of threats and challenges facing the UK, from organised immigration gangs to hostile and corrupt states, it must put its money where its mouth is. The NCA has been forced to underperform for too long due to a lack of sufficient investment. It urgently needs a new injection of cash to fund major reform of pay and cutting-edge technology. This new investment can easily be offset by the long-term value to the taxpayer it will bring, including by reducing the vast sums the agency currently spends on temporary workers and consultants to fill its vacancies.”

An NCA spokesperson said: “The agency is a global leader in many areas and has achieved significant and sustained success over the past decade. Last year alone, our officers caused over 4,700 disruptions, the highest number ever, and more than a dozen every day. That said, the Spotlight report highlights a number of issues around our funding, pay structures, staffing and investment – areas we have identified in our own reports and are actively working to address. “We are committed to working with government to ensure the agency has the right structure and operating model and, crucially, is able to attract, retain and support talented employees. We know it is vital that we deliver value for money while also achieving our mission to protect the public from serious and organised crime, now and as the threat evolves.”

A Home Office spokesperson added: “The National Crime Agency plays a vital role in tackling organised crime gangs, and this Government is committed to investing in the NCA and its people to ensure it has the capacity and capability to tackle growing threats. Last month we announced 100 extra NCA officers who will work with partners across Europe to defeat criminal smuggling gangs making dangerous crossings in small boats, which comes on top of a 50% increase in NCA officers at Europol.”