Copeland council has reported a surge in applications from jobseekers interested in roles which the authority previously struggled to fill.

Between 2018 and 2019, it has seen an increase in the number of people who want to work for them in departments such as planning and building control.

A report written by Claire Dunn, the council’s human resources manager, said that the council was also seeing a corresponding rise in the number of suitable candidates for posts.

She added that the increase was not only due to changes in the current labour market but may also indicate that the council was being recognised as a fair and good employer.

But the people strategy document also recommended that the council did not rest on its laurels but continued its work to attract the best and brightest to the hard-to-fill roles.

The draft blueprint setting out the authority’s plans to grow, develop and retain its workforce has now been formally adopted by the council’s executive.

Councillor David Moore attributed the council’s success in attracting and retaining staff to its investment in its employees, including training and apprenticeship opportunities.

A recent meeting of the executive heard that surveys of the workforce had shown that people were pleased to be working in Copeland and were happy to recommend the council as an employer.

Coun Moore described this new-found positivity as a significant change, adding: “Our workforce is confident in the work that the council is doing and we’re confident in what the workforce is delivering for us.”

Speaking at the meeting, Ms Dunn told leading councillors that there had “never been a better time to be in Copeland”.

Responding to the report, chief executive Pat Graham described its publication as a really great day for the borough.

“We’re moving back into a more planned approach and our workforce and our skills set and our talent is tailored to exactly what we are trying to do,” she said.

Copeland council employs 284 people –145 men and 148 women.

The 2019 gender pay gap was 20.9 per cent, which means the council is in the highest quarter of gender pay gaps in the sector.

And under the plans set out in the draft people strategy, it will review its recruitment process and opportunities to close this gap.