"Coventry council point finger at Covid after spiralling agency staff spend"

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The local authority said it was confident costs will reduce



Spend on agency workers at Coventry City Council shot up to £7.3 million last year to plug staffing shortages and increased demand during the pandemic.

Covid-19 has been partly blamed for the near 50 per cent rise in costs in 2020/21, which stood at £4.9m the previous year.

The authority said demand for additional staff rose during the pandemic, while many temporary contracts switched to agency workers.

Children’s services was the department with the highest agency spend at £3.7m, while streetscene and regulatory services – which covers services including bin collections – was the other area to top £1m.

However the authority insists its agency contract has provided savings when the impact of Covid-19 is taken out, and believes recent recruitment drives will also help reduce costs going forward.

Cllr Richard Brown, cabinet member for strategic finance and resources, said: “Like many other local councils we have faced an extraordinary period due to the Covid pandemic.

“Nationally it’s well documented that Brexit has also had an impact in areas such as HGV drivers – and this causes additional pressures.

“This has resulted in higher agency staff costs in the last financial year, but I’m reassured that we are managing the situation in the best way possible.

“Our efforts in recruiting non-agency staff have been very positive and we are continuing to manage our budget in the most efficient way possible.

“Also, we believe our contracted provider who supplies temporary agency staff offers a flexible and cost-effective solution.”

The authority said there was a big jump in costs last year to cover shielding staff, isolating staff and extra workload commitments.

Other agency workers were also needed for projects such as Very Light Rail, Coventry Station, Upper Precinct, and the A46 Link Road, they added.

Costs have been highlighted in a report which will be taken to cabinet on Tuesday, August 31.