FOI-03867

##Request

_Please provide information on the number of adverts, success rate, republished rate disaggregated by AfC pay band (2,3, up to 9) for the last two years available?_

On the 5 June 2026 you clarified the following:

_For background, we’re looking to use this data to better understand which AfC bands are most difficult to recruit to. I recognise that’s very complex (and vary across providers and roles) but some evidence is better than none._

_And so to answer your question, I think we’d want to know at the point at which a candidate has formally accepted a contract. But happy for you to suggest an alternative timepoint if it’s better supported by the available data._

##Response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds some of the information you have requested and a copy of the information is attached.

__Caveats__

We are unable to determine whether applicants were successful on ATS vacancies as they are taken offline from the service to carry on with their recruitment journeys elsewhere. This means that the count may appear significantly low, but a factor of this would be applicants being taken to another ATS to continue.

When looking at the reuse functionality, this does not necessarily mean that the recruitment was unsuccessful with this listing. A listing may be reused by an organisation for other reasons, such as replacing someone who has left in the same role.

We are only able to go back a certain timeframe when looking at candidate application information due to data retention periods. This means that the contract accepted count is lower than the actual figure would be in the April 2024-May 2026 period as the candidate dataset from the point the FOI was created only went back to November 2024.

Some of the smaller organisations who make up a large percentage of NHS Jobs end-to-end adverts take parts of the recruitment journey offline from the service. This may mean that some of the organisations look to have a lower success rate, but this may not be the case as the contract may be issued offline and they may not continue using the service to complete recruitment.

The information provided is limited to what the recruiting organisation supplies us with. For more detail on each position, you may wish to write to each trust directly. A directory of trusts and ICBs (including the ones provided in the data) can be found at the below web link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-provider-directory/

__Data Queries__

Please contact <a href=mailto:foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a> ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

Reusing the data and copyright

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact <a href=mailto:communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ 

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHS Jobs, NHSBSA Copyright 2026” Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.


Tags: NHS jobs
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log