The Agency told us that multi-year revenue funding settlements are preferable and help it to plan in areas such as staffing. The Agency has skills shortages in some specialist areas like engineering that are critical for flood defence. It explained that this is largely due to the disparity between the pay in the public and private sectors and it does not see this situation changing significantly. As a result, one solution it is focused on is developing in- house expertise through apprenticesh...

The Agency told us that multi-year revenue funding settlements are preferable and help it to plan in areas such as staffing. The Agency has skills shortages in some specialist areas like engineering that are critical for flood defence. It explained that this is largely due to the disparity between the pay in the public and private sectors and it does not see this situation changing significantly. As a result, one solution it is focused on is developing in- house expertise through apprenticeship schemes and supporting people to get professional qualifications. It said that these are long-term solutions which emphasise the importance of certain Type: conclusion | Number: 15 | Response status: under_consideration Government response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: ongoing ahead of Spending Review 2021 4.2 The government recognises that there can be benefits to setting budgets for key priorities on a multi- year basis. This is w