Agenda item

Temporary Agency Staff

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report on the Council’s spend on Temporary Agency Staff contracts via Matrix SC for quarter 4. 

 

The Report set out  spend broken down by Directorate against comparison year periods 2015/16 to 2017/18.  The Contract had been successful in controlling and improving governance around departmental engagement of agency staff and to an extent had reduced spend due to non compliance to corporate policies.  The contract would continue to be monitored and spend outside the Matrix contract challenged to ensure placements were in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

 

Members were advised that work was due to commence in mid June to  produce an options appraisal for the agency staff contract for the future. In conjunction with the Council’s programme for reducing agency staff, there were a number of possible options to assist the Council achieving its targets and costs.  The current contract came up for renewal/re-procurement in January 2019 and the Committee would be kept updated on progress.

 

Members discussed the report and were assured that there was a system in place to see that people were not in place over a certain number of months.  Work was ongoing with Directorates to reduce long-term placements and, where specialist skills were required, the Sough Academy scheme would assist in developing skilled staff.  Some members felt that more analysis of historic data was required to gauge whether the Council’s strategy to reduce spend on agency staff was effective.

 

The Committee Noted the report and Resolved

 

(a)   that a report be provided to the next meeting (23rd October) setting out:

 

·  benchmarking information against other similar authorities for typical agency staff spend, duration of contract  etc

 

·  the work being undertaken/strategy to reduce/tackle  use of temporary agency staff.

 

(b)  That information on temporary agency staff for the DSO be reported separately

 

Supporting documents: