Dorset County Council spending is down (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Dorset County Council spending is down

10:36am Wednesday 12th September 2012 in News

DORSET County Council’s spending on consultants and temporary staff has significantly reduced, cabinet members have been told.

The authority launched a review into arrangements for temporary staff earlier this year after it was revealed that a temporary worker employed through an agency to work on an IT project cost £167,000 in a year.

Other high-earning agency staff cost the council almost £1.3million over three years.

Figures now produced in a report for the council’s cabinet show that the overall spending on non-directly employed contract workers was down in the 2011/12 financial year compared to 2010/11.

Spending on consultancy, which included freelance and self-employed workers, was down 40 per cent and spending on agency staff was down 20 per cent on the previous year.

In total the council spent just over £5million in 2011/12 on its non-directly employed workforce compared to just under £7million the year before.

Director for corporate resources Elaine Taylor told the cabinet: “It is pleasing to report to members that the trends are downwards.”