Somerset Conservatives have criticised Liberal Democrat-run Somerset Council after new figures revealed that spending on agency staff and consultants has already exceeded £14 million this financial year, more than double the figure reported just six months ago.
At a recent Executive meeting, Conservative Opposition Leader Cllr Diogo Rodrigues asked the administration to provide an update on the council’s spending on agency staff. In September members were told that spending had reached £33 million across three years, including £6.8 million in the current financial year at that point.
In response to Cllr Rodrigues’ latest question, the administration confirmed that spending for 2025/26 has now doubled to more than £14 million - totaling over £40 million since 2023 despite the council cutting 555 permanent job posts.
Cllr Rodrigues said the figures show the council has failed to get control of agency spending and is becoming increasingly reliant on temporary staff. Cllr Diogo Rodrigues said:
“When we were told in September that £6.8 million had already been spent on agency staff this year, we warned that the council needed to get a grip on the situation.
Just six months later that figure has doubled to more than £14 million. That tells you everything you need to know. This is no longer a short term measure, it is becoming business as usual.
Agency staff cost significantly more than employing people directly, yet the Liberal Democrat administration continues to splash taxpayers’ money on temporary staff while residents are facing higher council tax bills.”
Cllr Rodrigues said Somerset Conservatives have already put forward clear proposals to bring the situation under control.
“At last week’s Full Council meeting we set out our approach to tackling this problem.
We would introduce a strict, cast iron instruction for the use of agency staff to be reduced by 30%, reinforcing establishment control and reducing reliance on temporary labour.
We must end the excessive spend on agency staff. We know, for example, that one temporary officer is costing this council almost a quarter of a million pounds for a single year.
Hardworking council taxpayers expect their council to spend money carefully. Instead we are seeing millions of pounds leaving the organisation through costly agency contracts.”
