Council agency costs to 'considerably decrease in the next financial year'

Figures uncovered by Oldham Liberal Democrats show Oldham Council has spent £56 million and counting on agency workers since 2021.

Lib Dem leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE said: “It’s been clear for a long time now this council is struggling with recruitment and retention of staff across a range of services. 

"That means that agency staff get brought in to fill the gaps, but it’s costing taxpayers more money.

“£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.

“If there is a job of work to be done and the cash to pay for it these should be permanent jobs for local people,” added cllr Sykes. 

“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.

“Oldham Council’s focus should be to provide good permanent jobs for local families. 

"They need to get a grip of this situation before inflation and government tax hikes on things like National Insurance Contributions push our costs even higher.” 

Responding, cllr Abdul Jabbar, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Value for Money and Sustainability, said: “The council has experienced increases in agency costs over recent years due to high inflation, an increased demand for social care particularly in children’s services, market conditions and the availability of permanent staff.

“And 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.

“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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