Spending on agency staff at Norwich City Council has doubled this year
Over £2.4 million's been spent from January to June this year.
Last updated 22nd Aug 2023
City Hall has spent almost £2.4m on agency staff already this year, almost double the same period in 2022.
Reports reveal Norwich City Council is spending considerable sums employing temporary workers across a range of departments, but what they do is left unclear.
In total, between January and June 2023, City Hall spent £2,415,635.69 outsourcing staff.
In the same period last year, the authority spent £1,325,197.77 – a difference of £1,090,437.92 between the two years.
The spending comes after the council has had to fill a £6.2m budget gap for the financial year.
A range of departments are listed in the spending reports, including IT and property services, professional finance and licensing.
But the documents do not specify what the workers did for each department.
A spokesman for the city council said the “stark reality” is the authority cannot “permanently employ all the right people” meaning agency staff are necessary, particularly when bidding for projects like the Town Deal fund – a set of eight schemes intended to improve Norwich.
The spokesman refused to say what other specific projects temporary workers are involved in.
The city council is involved in a series of major schemes, including the East Norwich Masterplan – which would create a new quarter of the city, and see 3,600 homes built and 4,000 jobs created- and led the redevelopment of Hay Hill, outside McDonald’s, which is set to transform the city centre space.
It has also needed to bring in contractors for a series of desperately needed safety repairs and fire door replacements in council flats, which could be part of the staffing costs.
The spokesman said the council is a “very big business” with a gross budget of over £200m.
“Turning funding opportunities into something real which makes a positive contribution to our residents’ lives means we have to temporarily employ people with specialist skills when they don’t already exist in our workforce,” he said.
“This is now what local government looks like, across the whole of the country.
“We will continue to be openly ambitious for our city and our residents and won’t be left behind – this involves a real shift in thinking when it comes to understanding how local councils must now operate to be successful and financially stable.”