Council agency costs to 'considerably decrease in the next financial year'
Oldham Council has spent £56 million on agency workers since 2021, prompting criticism from the Liberal Democrats over recruitment and retention issues. The Labour-run council acknowledges the high costs but cites inflation, social care demand, and market conditions as contributing factors, while promising a reduction in agency costs next year.
Oldham Council has spent £56 million on agency workers since 2021, according to figures released by the Oldham Liberal Democrats.
Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE criticized the Labour-run council for relying on temporary staff. “It’s been clear for a long time now this council is struggling with recruitment and retention of staff across a range of services,” he said. “That means that agency staff get brought in to fill the gaps, but it’s costing taxpayers more money.”
The £56 million expenditure over four years represents what Sykes called “an eye-watering sum” that could have funded permanent local employment. “£56 million over four years is an eye-watering sum. The Labour-run council needs to look at which agency workers can be made permanent and where we can be recruiting locally,” he demanded.
Sykes argued that the council lacks a coherent strategy to address the issue. “Where is the plan to tackle this - simple answer - there is not one, but there should be. Permanent staff are the backbone of services that perform well. At the moment Oldham Council is spending more money for short-term staffing solutions and that hurts the standard of services residents receive at the same time as hurting council taxpayers in the pocket.”
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Value for Money and Sustainability, Councillor Abdul Jabbar, defended the council’s position. He attributed rising agency costs to “high inflation, an increased demand for social care particularly in children’s services, market conditions and the availability of permanent staff.”
Jabbar also noted that the 2022/23 transfer of services from the Unity Partnership back to council control affected the figures. “The transfer of services provided by in-house company the Unity Partnership back to the Council in 2022/23 meant that a significant amount of agency expenditure previously incurred by Unity Partnership is recorded as agency expenditure incurred by the council,” he explained.
Despite the high costs, Jabbar indicated improvement is underway. “Creating a sustainable and strong workforce is absolutely a key priority for us, and we are pushing to transfer agency roles back to permanent employment. These figures show there has been a significant reduction in agency expenditure, and we expect to see a considerable decrease in agency costs in the next financial year.”
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