Haringey Council is to spend £30 million employing temporary staff over the nextfinancial year, according to official projections. The figure, revealed atyesterday’s meeting of the Borough’s scrutiny committee, prompted LiberalDemocrat councillors to call for an urgent inquiry into the Council’s use oftemporary staff and agency workers.

The watch-dog committee was examining spending proposals for the next threeyears as part of Haringey Council’s budget setting process. It was suggestedthat the cost of temporary workers had more than trebled from £8m in 2000 to£30m next year.

Lib Dem calls for urgent action were supported, and the committee will nowstart the process of taking a detailed look at the role of temps within theCouncil.

Commenting, Councillor Stephen Gilbert said:

“By any measure £30 million is a lot of money and we have to be clear that we are getting the best possiblevalue for local tax-payers. Temporary workers will have a role in anorganisation of Haringey’s size, but their services always come at a premiumwith agencies also taking a healthy commission.

“Permanent staff are more likely have a sense of identity and provideballast to an organisation and we must look closely at why we are so relianton temps. Is the recruitment process for permanent workers taking too longor are we failing to hold on to people when they have been recruited?”