ABOUT 18 per cent of staff left Redditch Council last year but officers have taken heart from figures showing the problem is not just a local one.

But the figure is 3.2 per cent above the average turnover for public services across the country and about 2.6 per cent less than all industries as a whole.

A report for councillors on the corporate services committee acknowledged that recruiting staff for local government was proving difficult, especially in areas like environmental health, accountancy, information technology and planning.

The report also says there was a rise in the number of vacancies not filled at the first attempt.