Agenda item

The Committee considered a progress report on the contract with Matrix SCM to supply temporary agency staff for the Council, which had been in operation since January 2013.

The implementation of the new contract had a savings target for 2013/14 of £250,000.  Expenditure on agency staff from March 2013 to February 2014 amounted to £7,434,205, giving a saving of £504,780 against the previous contract.

There were currently 112 agency workers (not employed on a sessional basis) which continued to remain fairly stable and below the baseline of 123 set under the previous contract.  77% of agency workers were travelling less than 20 miles to their place of work (slightly up from the 74% reported at the last meeting).  The number of staff travelling from within SL1-SL6 post codes continued to remain around 58%.

Data for the length of tenure of temporary staff, the directorate they were engaged by and the job titles held by those temporary staff were reported.  The Committee was pleased that the contract with Matrix was continuing to save the Council money but at the same time expressed concern that overall expenditure was not coming down and the total number temporary staff had reduced only a little.

Resolved –

(a)  That the report be noted.

(b)  That in order to keep downward pressure on the number of temporary staff engaged, a RECOMMENDATION be made to CMT to re-instate the monitoring process of reasons why a temporary agency staff member was being used.

(c)  That a progress report be provided for the next meeting.