More than £9m spent on temporary staff in last eight years

In the last eight financial years, Folkestone & Hythe District Council have spent £9,118,847 on temporary staff, according to their spend data. This is an average spend on temporary staff of £1,139,856 a year

Dr Susan Piest (pictured) became the Head of Paid Service of Folkestone & Hythe District Council on the 1 April 2018, and later on the Chief Executive. During her six year tenure, the Council have spent more than £1m on Temporary Staff on no less than four occasions, as shown below.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, the Council have, according to their payment to suppliers data, spent just over £1.4m on temporary staff. The amount includes the interim Finance Director s151, Lydia Morrison, who is in post temporarily until a new s151 officer can be found. She received £150,000 for a four day week.

HR Go (Kent) Ltd have received 18.5% of the total sum spent, making them the largest provider of temporary staff to Folkestone & Hythe District Council.

Dr Priest and the Council’s head of HR, Andrina Smith (pictured below), have both made it clear our Council have found it difficult to attract the right caliber of candidate and retaining them.

The Council late last year (2023) announced a voluntary redundancy scheme to save costs as they were facing a significant budget deficit. Since then a five members of staff have volunteered. The costs for these voluntary redundancies was £317,000, with one individual receiving £161,000, so more than 50% of the whole amount. In 2022/23 they were six departures, totaling  £150,000, according to the draft statement of accounts for 2023/24.

Local Government has historically faced high staff turnover rates, often leading to a reliance on temporary agency staff. In March 2021 it was recorded that 45.3% of those who worked in Local Government worked on a temporary or casual contract. Only 26.2% of staff were employed on a permanent contract. This is reflected in 78% of Councils reporting recruitment and retention difficulties.

In  Jan 2023, it was reported that nine in ten council were experiencing staffing issues and threatening vital local services. One has to wonder why people are choosing not to take up roles in local councils.

That aside, it’s more than likely temporary staff costs at Folkestone & Hythe DC will exceed the £1 million pound mark annually even if they introduce a four day week. How this could, or would be considered “value for money”, or even best value, we do not know.

Perhaps you might want to ask your locally elected Councillor. They might be able to explain why temporary staff costs remain stubbornly high. 

The Shepway Vox Team

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