Cambridgeshire County Council spent over £1.6 million last year on temporary staff. Freedom of Information requests revealed that seven social care staff were employed by the council on a temporary basis in 2010/11, with the cheapest of them costing an eye-watering £450 a day. Five of the staff had a daily rate of more than £600 and the most expensive was paid £690 for every shift worked. These startling levels of pay meant that temporary staff were earning well over £100,000 a year whilst the council attempted to find permanent replacements.
The most shocking example was a member of staff that cost taxpayers £348,000 over two years, almost as much as the salary of the council's Chief Executive over the same period.
Interim staff should ideally be in place for short spells while the Council looks for permanent replacements. But in this case, the group of consultants were in post for over a year, each earning more from their daily rate of pay than many council staff are paid in a week.
The council's cabinet member for resources, Cllr Steve Count, described the use of the agencies as 'cost-effective' but taxpayers are likely to take a very different view.
Cambridgeshire County Council spent over £1.6 million last year on temporary staff. Freedom of Information requests revealed that seven social care staff were employed by the council on a temporary basis in 2010/11, with the cheapest of them costing an eye-watering £450 a day. Five of the staff had a daily rate of more than £600 and the most expensive was paid £690 for every shift worked. These startling levels of pay meant that temporary staff were earning well over £100,000 a year whilst the council attempted to find permanent replacements.
The most shocking example was a member of staff that cost taxpayers £348,000 over two years, almost as much as the salary of the council's Chief Executive over the same period.
Interim staff should ideally be in place for short spells while the Council looks for permanent replacements. But in this case, the group of consultants were in post for over a year, each earning more from their daily rate of pay than many council staff are paid in a week.
The council's cabinet member for resources, Cllr Steve Count, described the use of the agencies as 'cost-effective' but taxpayers are likely to take a very different view.
The most shocking example was a member of staff that cost taxpayers £348,000 over two years, almost as much as the salary of the council's Chief Executive over the same period.
Interim staff should ideally be in place for short spells while the Council looks for permanent replacements. But in this case, the group of consultants were in post for over a year, each earning more from their daily rate of pay than many council staff are paid in a week.
The council's cabinet member for resources, Cllr Steve Count, described the use of the agencies as 'cost-effective' but taxpayers are likely to take a very different view.
The most shocking example was a member of staff that cost taxpayers £348,000 over two years, almost as much as the salary of the council's Chief Executive over the same period.
Interim staff should ideally be in place for short spells while the Council looks for permanent replacements. But in this case, the group of consultants were in post for over a year, each earning more from their daily rate of pay than many council staff are paid in a week.
The council's cabinet member for resources, Cllr Steve Count, described the use of the agencies as 'cost-effective' but taxpayers are likely to take a very different view.