Since, 1 January 2014, my Department has received 933 engineering staffing sanction requests from local authorities, of which 819 have been approved. The status of these requests is set out in the table attached. The posts not approved include:
- 18 requests which are pending, in general awaiting supporting information prior to an informed decision being taken;
- 12 requests refused;
- 38 requests withdrawn by the sector;
- 46 requests marked as 'Closed under Circular E.L. 02-2016', which were closed by my Department following the introduction of agreed numbers under workforce planning (the circular granted delegated sanction to Chief Executives to fill vacancies as needed in the context of the agreed Workforce Plan, and Departmental sanction was no longer therefore required).
Table