Union criticises £8.5m temp spend

A union has criticised Nottingham City Council's spending on temporary staff.

Unison's figures show the authority paid out £8.5m on temps in the year period from April 2007 compared to £3.5m by the county council.

East Midlands Regional Secretary from Unison, Helen Black, said the money could have been better spent.

But a spokesperson from Nottingham City Council pledged that the issue of temporary, agency and consultancy staff would be investigated fully.

'Peaks and troughs'

The spokesperson added: "We are actively investigating the issue...to ensure it provides value for money.

"We will consider whether reducing the numbers of such staff is the right way forward."

But Ms Black said more action was needed.

"The money's not wasted in the sense that it's providing vital public services to the people of Nottingham, the issue is whether that money could be better spent."

Ms Black added: "By directly employing staff at decent rates of pay, you would get better quality public services at less cost."

Nottinghamshire County Council service director Jack Markiewicz said: "Temporary staff enable us to deal with peaks and troughs in workloads.

"They help us to be more flexible and more responsive to the needs of local people."