59 Temporary Agency Staffing Procurement
To receive a report if the Director of HR
& OD.
Supporting documents:
Decision:
That Cabinet:
1) Approve that a new contract for Temporary Agency Staffing be commissioned via a competitive procurement process compliant with relevant procurement legislation.
2) Delegate authority to deal with all matters relating to the competition, the award of the Contract and any future extensions of the Contract to the Director of HR&OD in consultation with the Cabinet Members responsible for Finance and Staffing.
3) Approve a Contract Term of three (3) years with the option to extend for a further twelve (12) months with an estimated cost of £20m for a 4 year period funded by existing budgets within services.
Reason for Proposals
The Council has an ongoing requirement for agency staff to deliver its business priorities and a contract to deliver temporary agency services supports this need.
Minutes:
Cllr Mel Jacob, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Communities, Engagement, and Corporate Services, presented a report on procurement for a new contract for temporary agency staffing. She emphasised that there were situations where agency staff were either unavoidable or preferable, but that the council sought permanent recruitment wherever possible, and the level of agency staff had reduced significantly in recent years. It was also noted that the contract over 4 years was for £20m, but the level varied month to month and the actual spend could be less.
Other comments from Cabinet Members included the council’s performance and outcome boards focusing on agency staffing across the council, and that any provider would need to integrate their information and systems with the council’s.
Cllr Graham Wright, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, stated that the report was considered by the committee on 3 June 2025. There were several questions related to the impact of the procurement on the budget, detail of the financial impact of agency staff, and no recommendations were made on the report.
Cllr Dominic Muns, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group, noted that agency staff were more expensive than permanent staff, and sought assurance that recruitment drives to appoint permanently would be continued as much as possible.
In response it was confirmed that the council would continue to seek to recruit permanently to reduce reliance on temporary staff, and it was noted that agency social workers had reduced to less than 10 in children’s services, as an example of
At the conclusion of discussion, it was,
Resolved:
That Cabinet:
1) Approve that a new contract for Temporary Agency Staffing be commissioned via a competitive procurement process compliant with relevant procurement legislation.
2) Delegate authority to deal with all matters relating to the competition, the award of the Contract and any future extensions of the Contract to the Director of HR&OD in consultation with the Cabinet Members responsible for Finance and Staffing.
3) Approve a Contract Term of three (3) years with the option to extend for a further twelve (12) months with an estimated cost of £20m for a 4 year period funded by existing budgets within services.
Reason for Proposals
The Council has an ongoing requirement for agency staff to deliver its business priorities and a contract to deliver temporary agency services supports this need.