NEARLY half a million pounds has been spent on temps to help run Reigate and Banstead Borough Council in the last year.
Agency staff charged with providing several council services, including recycling, communications, licensing, and community benefits, have cost the taxpayer £458,175.83 between April last year and March 2013.
The companies hired by the council include controversial G4S Policing, which gained notoriety for its failure to supply sufficient staff for the London Olympics.
Other firms which have provided staff on a temporary basis are Hays Construction, Alan Muzzall Enterprises, and Badenoch and Clark.
The news has generated mixed reaction from the public, with some saying it is right to spend taxpayers' money on agency staff when needed. Others condemned the council for paying private firms to provide workers when a solution should have been found in-house.
To date, the biggest single payment was that made to Synergy Construction Services in December – £5,523.46 for "building control" services.
According to information we obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the council's favoured provider appears to be Hays Construction, which has been paid £198,164.18 in the past year for services including development management, refuse and recycling, ICT and debt and cash management.
The authority defended its use of agency staff saying they were important for covering circumstances such as annual leave and long term sickness.
Margaret Quine, head of corporate services, said: "The council uses temporary staff for a number of reasons, including, as you would expect, for covering annual leave, maternity leave and long-term sickness. Some teams also have seasonal variations in their workload, particularly our parks and countryside and waste and recycling teams.
"The current welfare reforms have also led to an increase in the workload of our revenues and benefits team and the need for additional short-term resource.
"The council also uses temporary contractors for short-term projects when we need expertise not already within the council, instead of employing additional permanent staff.
"However, our use of temporary staff has reduced significantly."