£660m Lost: Shock Cost of Council Sickness

Staff sickness and absence are costing councils millions, yet town halls keep demanding more money while too little attention is paid to lost working time and weak productivity. Podcast host Duncan Barkes is joined by the TPA's William Yarwood and Shimeon Lee to discuss new TaxPayers' Alliance research into sickness absence across UK local authorities, revealing the cost to council budgets and the impact on frontline services. They examine why absence rates vary so widely between councils, how mental health-related absence has become a growing pressure, and what high levels of staff sickness mean for residents already facing rising council tax bills. They also discuss the wider public sector sickness and productivity problem.