£20m extra spend on agency workers a 'criminal waste of taxpayers’ money'

One in three staff employed by Haringey Council are temporary agency workers, reports Olivia Opara and Miriam Balanescu

Haringey Council is set to spend a further £20million on temporary agency workers, as data has revealed a 12% increase within in the council’s workforce.

The council is set to increase its current contract value with agency supplier Matrix by up to £20m to continue to provide short term agency and interim workers and to cover the salaries of agency workers until the end of the contract term. The council currently spends £45m per annum on agency staff.

The current contract value of £109,495,090 (including a £1,495,090 increase from the initial contract value of £108,000,000 agreed on 20th November 2020) is expected to run out by early 2024 as a result of increased numbers of agency workers since 2021.

The council cited unforeseen challenges in the past few years – including the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, and the higher-than-expected annual pay increases – as reasons for the increase.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting last month, cabinet member for finance and local investment Dana Carlin said: “The number of agency workers in Haringey has accelerated recently and the assumptions made at the beginning of the contract [meant we] underestimated the final cost required for the duration of contract.

“This decision will extend the funding of the contract.”

An freedom of information (FOI) made by HCP revealed that there has been a 12% increase in the number of agency workers from the 21/22 financial year (51.6%) to the current 22/23 financial year (63.1%).

1,193 agency workers currently work for the council – just over a third of its total workforce.

In an effort to reduce the growing number of agency staff, the council has said department directors have been tasked with providing a solid reason for every agency worker employed at the council and ensuring that there is an end date for their employment. Directors have also been told that no new agency staff will be recruited without prior consideration of all alternative options.

During the meeting, Cllr Carlin said that there are difficulties with retaining permanent staff and that “there are shortages” across all councils.

“But we currently have a higher number of agency workers than [the] benchmark for councils. So it is important for us to reduce the number of agency workers in the council.

“Ultimately we would like our workforce as much as possible to be permanent workers embedded in the council.”

In their own investigations, the opposition Liberal Democrat party found that 70 “temporary” members of staff had been employed by the council for over three years, while one had been employed for eleven years.

The opposition also pointed out that temporary staff are more expensive to employ than permanent staff.

Cllr Luke Cawley-Harrison (LD-Crouch End), leader of the opposition on Haringey Council, said:
“Haringey’s reliance on expensive agency staff is a criminal waste of taxpayers’ money. A recent national staffing crisis can’t explain employing ‘temporary’ members of staff for 11 years, and the Labour cabinet member has admitted they are spending more than other councils – meaning less value for money for our residents. This isn’t good enough, and Haringey must get to the bottom of their poor performance and rectify things quickly.”

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