Since its establishment in April 2023, Somerset Council has spent over £40 million on agency staff, sparking criticism amid ongoing job cuts and a major transformation programme.
The council is executing a comprehensive plan designed to cut costs and boost efficiency by altering how local services are delivered. The first phase concluded in April 2025, resulting in approximately 300 job losses. Subsequently, the council entered a £20 million contract with Newton in September 2025 to drive the next phase.
Conservative opposition leader Councillor Diogo Rodrigues has condemned the growing dependence on agency staff, linking it to significant council tax increases imposed this year. Raising the issue at a recent executive committee meeting in Taunton, Rodrigues highlighted that agency staff costs had jumped to £40.7 million since the council’s inception.
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Rodrigues requested updated figures and details on measures being taken to curb agency spending. In response, Councillor Theo Butt Philip, portfolio holder for transformation, human resources, and localities, explained that agency staff are currently essential due to challenges in recruiting permanent personnel. Somerset Council employs about 4,700 people, with last year’s staffing expenditure surpassing £330 million. Agency staff spending alone reached £14.2 million in 2024/25 and stood at over £14 million in the current financial year to date.
Butt Philip emphasized ongoing efforts to convert agency workers into permanent roles, citing recent successful appointments including an interim HR director and a chief financial officer. He stressed that cutting back abruptly on agency staff—particularly within critical planning and enforcement teams—would severely impact service quality. Currently, these departments rely heavily on agency professionals, with 12 such roles still to be permanently filled.
The council further revealed reliance on agency workers supplied by Lichfield West Midlands Traded Services, a company owned by Lichfield District Council. To improve recruitment, Somerset is enhancing pay and retention schemes to attract permanent employees.
Critics like Rodrigues warn that excessive reliance on costly temporary staff risks becoming normal practice, burdening taxpayers who face rising council tax bills. He pointed out that agency workers can cost the council significantly more, with one temporary officer quoted at nearly a quarter of a million pounds annually.
Responding to these concerns, the council leadership insists that maintaining service standards requires continued use of agency staff where recruitment difficulties persist, alongside an ongoing push to reduce dependence and stabilize finances.