PAC raises concerns over temporary staff bill

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised concerns over government spending on consultants and temporary staff, warning that issues identified in 2010 ‘have not been properly addressed’.

According to a new report published by the PAC, some departments’ overall spending on consultants and temporary staff has risen by up to 90 per cent sine 2011-12, with the total bill for temporary staff around £1.3 billion for 2014-15.

The PAC claims that some specialist temporary staff ‘cost twice as much as permanent staff’ and says it is ‘not convinced’ that the Cabinet Office has a clear strategy to reduce the skills gap across government. The report warns that deficiencies in workforce planning across the civil service could mean departments have to rely more heavily on temporary staff in the future.

While the PAC acknowledges that ‘consultants and temporary staff can be a flexible and cost-effective part of the government workforce’, it argues that this should only be justified when it is not ‘feasible’ to maintain these skills in house or to borrow skills from elsewhere in the civil service.

Meg Hillier, chair of the PAC, said: "There is a place for buying in expert advice and using temporary staff if there is a skills gap but departments first need to be sure they do not have access to these skills in-house. Getting this wrong costs the taxpayer dear.

“Filling permanent roles with temporary staff is short-sighted and does nothing to address underlying skills shortages in the civil service, nor to develop its expertise. When temps leave, valuable experience leaves with them.

“The government needs to get a grip, identify where skills are lacking in-house and put a proper plan in place to deliver those skills through the recruitment and development of high quality, permanent staff.”