Number of public sector organisations reporting trade union facility time drops by half

Embargoed: 19:00, Saturday 22nd February 2025

• Number of public sector organisations reporting trade union facility time drops by half in one year, ahead of law changes.
  
  
• Despite drop in reporting, trade union facility time still is costing a confirmed £98.2 million.
  
  
• Andrew Griffith MP describes plans to remove mandatory reporting of data as “orwellian outrage.”
  
  

The number of public sector organisations reporting trade union facility time has dropped by almost half, ahead of changes to the law which will end the mandatory reporting of the number of staff taking paid or unpaid time off for trade union duties. Responding to the research, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Andrew Griffith, warned of an “orwellian outrage that elevates trade union bosses into a VIP lane whilst everyone else suffers.”

Under the employment rights bill organisations will no longer be required to publish facility time information. In addition, ministers will be prevented from limiting the amount of facility time within their departments. The deadline for facility time data from the 2023-24 financial year was 31st July 2024, less than a month after Labour came to power. A total of 1,148 organisations submitted data, a 47.4 per cent fall compared to 2022-23.

Despite this drop in reporting, trade union facility time still cost taxpayers a confirmed £98.2 million, with 21,639 employees acting as trade union representatives. Looking at organisations which reported data in both years, the cost of facility time rose by 15 per cent or £9.8 million. 

Almost a thousand public sector employees, 993, spent 100 per cent of their working hours on facility time, as well as 438 who spent 51 to 99 per cent of their working hours on facility time. Looking just at organisations who provided data for the last two years, the number who worked as full time trade union representatives increased by 9.2 per cent.

Organisations which were heavily burdened by facility time include Bradford council which had 42 full time trade union representatives, the most of any public sector organisation. The local authority has recently been given permission to increase council tax by 10 per cent, double the referendum cap. Transport for London had the largest facility time bill at £7.9 million, while the Department for Work and Pensions had the most total representatives at 987. Trade union facility time cost the NHS £17.1 million in 2023-24.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance first uncovered the cost of facility time and the existence of trade union ‘pilgrims’ in groundbreaking research in 2010 and ran a campaign called Stop Subsidising the Strikes in 2022.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE RESEARCH

Key findings:

• In 2023-24, there were at least 21,639 trade union representatives costing £98.2 million across the public sector. This included:
  • 993 who spent 100 per cent of their working hours on facility time.
  • 438 who spent 51 to 99 per cent of their working hours on facility time.
• Bradford city council had 42 employees spending 100 per cent of their working hours on facility time, the most of any public sector organisation in 2023-24. This was a fourfold increase from 11 in 2022-23.
• Transport for London had the most expensive facility time bill, £7.9 million in 2023-24.
• The Department for Work and Pensions had the most trade union representatives in 2023-24, with 987 costing £812,000. This was followed by HM Revenue and Customs, which had 823 trade union representatives costing over £2 million.

Changes since 2022-23

• While headline figures appear to have fallen, this is likely because the number of organisations reporting facility time data fell dramatically from 2,184 to 1,148, a 47.4 per cent decrease from 2022-23 to 2023-24.
• Looking specifically at organisations that reported data in both 2022-23 and 2023-24: 
  • The cost of facility time rose by 15 per cent or £9.8 million.
  • Those spending 100 per cent of their working hours on facility time rose by 9.2 per cent.
  • The number of trade union representatives saw a 3.7 per cent increase.

Local authorities

• Local authorities had the largest facility time bill, with 5,069 trade union representatives across 231 councils costing a total of £33.3 million in 2023-24
• 41 local authorities that reported data in 2022-23 did not report it in 2023-24.
• Of the local authorities that reported data for both 2022-23 and 2023-24:
  • The cost of facility time increased by 23.6 per cent, from £25.4 million to £31.4 million.
• The number of trade union representatives spending 100 per cent of their working hours on facility time rose by 18.6 per cent, from 429 to 509.
• The number of trade union representatives increased by 9.7 per cent, from 4,363 to 4,786.
• The average cost of facility time per local authority was £144,182 in 2023-24, 10 equivalent to 70 average English households’ Band D council tax bills. 
• Glasgow city council had the most expensive facility time bill for a local authority at almost £2.5 million in 2023-24 - a 70 per cent increase from £1.5 million in 2022-23.
• City of Edinburgh council had the most trade union representatives for a local authority with 269 in 2023-24, up from 247 in 2022-23. Their facility time bill also rose by 43.5 per cent to £849,000 in 2023-24.

Civil service

• There were 4,333 trade union representatives across civil service organisations in 2023-24.
• Four civil service organisations that reported data in 2022-23 did not do so in 2023-24, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
• The cost of facility time in the civil service rose by 15.6 per cent from £10.3 million to £12 million, for organisations that reported data for both 2022-23 and 2023-24.
• The Ministry of Justice had the most expensive facility time bill of any civil service organisation in 2023-24. Its 622 trade union representatives cost almost £3.1 million in 2023-24, a 17.3 per cent increase from £2.6 million in 2022-23.
• Only Scottish civil service organisations had employees who spent 100 per cent of their working hours on facility time. In 2023-24 there were a combined 32 individuals in this category.

NHS

• NHS organisations had 4,521 trade union representatives in 2023-24, costing £17.1 million.
• 39 NHS organisations that reported data in 2022-23 did not do so in 2023-24.
• Of NHS organisations that reported data for both 2022-23 and 2023-24:
  • The cost of facility time increased by 11 per cent, from £14.3 million to £15.9 million.
  • The number of trade union representatives spending 100 per cent of their working.hours on facility time fell by 4.4 per cent, from 203 to 194.
• The number of trade union representatives rose by 3.7 per cent, from 3,902 to 4,047.
• NHS Lothian spent the most on facility time of any NHS organisation in 2023-24, £1.9 million. It saw the number of trade union representatives rise by almost a third from 48 to 62.

Police

• In 2023-24, police organisations spent £5.1 million on facility time for 622 trade union representatives.
• Four police organisations that reported data in 2022-23 did not do so in 2023-24. This included the Metropolitan Police Service.
• Of police organisations that reported data for both 2022-23 and 2023-24:
  • The cost of facility time increased by 14 per cent, from £4.2 to £4.8 million.
  • The number of trade union representatives spending 100 per cent of their working hours on facility time fell by five per cent, from 80 to 76
  • The number of trade union representatives fell by 2.7 per cent, from 587 to 571.
• Lancashire constabulary spent the most on facility time of any police organisation in 2023-24, over £568,800 on 18 trade union representatives.

Education

• Education organisations had 4,866 trade union representatives costing a total of £18.9 million in 2023-24.
• The Open University had the largest facility time bill of any education organisation in 2023-24, at almost £599,600, this was an 18.6 per cent increase from 2022-23.
• United Learning Trust had 91 trade union representatives, the most of any education organisation in 2023-24. This was a 51.7 per cent increase from 60 in 2022-23.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE RESEARCH

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:

"The shocking drop in the number of organisations reporting facility time data is a worrying harbinger of what’s to come.

“For years we at the TPA fought for greater transparency, achieving significant successes thanks to a number of government ministers who recognised the need for transparency in this area. Yet just months after coming into office Labour ministers are shutting down the spotlight on this major area of government spending.

“Ministers should prioritise the interests of taxpayers over those of their union paymasters and scrap this absurd proposal, along with the rest of the employment rights bill.”

Andrew Griffith, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, said:

“British taxpayers deserve cost-effective services at a time when public sector productivity is already falling like a stone.

If Labour’s trade union inspired Employment Rights Bill has its way, taxpayers will have no idea how much of their cash will be siphoned off into paying for trade union militants.

This Bill is a 1970s style orwellian outrage that elevates trade union bosses into a VIP lane whilst everyone else suffers.”

TPA spokespeople are available for live and pre-recorded broadcast interviews via 07795 084 113 (no texts)

Media contact:

Elliot Keck
Head of Campaigns, TaxPayers' Alliance
[email protected]
24-hour media hotline: 07795 084 113 (no texts)

Notes to editors:

1. Founded in 2004 by Matthew Elliott and Andrew Allum, the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) campaigns to reform taxes and public services, cut waste and speak up for British taxpayers. Find out more at www.taxpayersalliance.com.
   
   
2. TaxPayers' Alliance's research council.
   
   
3. The TaxPayers’ Alliance first uncovered the cost of facility time and the existence of trade union ‘pilgrims’ in groundbreaking research in 2010.
   
   
4. In 2022, the TaxPayers’ Alliance called on the government to restrict trade union officials from spending more than 50 per cent of their time carrying out union duties and activities and reduce the spending cap to what was the civil service average of 0.05 per cent of their total pay bill.
   
   
5. Andrew Griffith has been the MP for Arundel and the South Downs since 2019 and Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade since November 2024. Find out more here.