Since its inception in April 2023, Somerset Council has spent over £40 million on agency staff, sparking substantial criticism amid ongoing job cuts and a sweeping cost-cutting transformation programme.
The council’s ambitious transformation initiative aims to streamline services and reduce expenses by changing how local government operates. The initial phase, completed in April 2025, resulted in approximately 300 staff redundancies. Shortly after, in September 2025, Somerset Council entered a £20 million contract with consultancy firm Newton to support the next phase of its overhaul.
Conservative opposition leader Councillor Diogo Rodrigues has condemned the council’s heavy dependence on agency workers, linking it to steep increases in local council tax rates as part of this year’s budgeting process.
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Responding to concerns raised at a recent executive committee meeting in Taunton, Councillor Rodrigues cited previous figures released in September, noting agency and consultant expenditure of £33 million: £12.5 million in 2023/24, £14.2 million in 2024/25, and £6.8 million so far in 2025/26. He urged the council to update the current spend and disclose strategies to reduce reliance on temporary staff.
Councillor Theo Butt Philip, portfolio holder for transformation, human resources, and localities, defended the agency spend. He explained the continued use of temporary staff is necessary due to recruitment challenges hindering the council’s ability to provide essential services. Presently, Somerset Council employs roughly 4,700 personnel, with staffing costs accounting for over £330 million annually. Agency staff expenditures stood at £14.2 million last year and about £14 million in the current financial year to date, bringing total agency spend since April 2023 to approximately £40.7 million.
The Conservative group proposed an alternative budget, which was rejected, advocating a 30% reduction in agency staffing across all departments to curb costs. However, Councillor Butt Philip emphasized that replacing agency workers too quickly could jeopardize service quality.
Efforts are underway to convert agency roles into permanent positions. For example, the interim Human Resources director secured a permanent post in June, and the council recently appointed its first permanent chief financial officer. Agency staff remain crucial in vital departments such as planning and enforcement, where vacancies persist despite ongoing recruitment efforts bolstered by new retention incentives.
Cutting back drastically on agency workers, Butt Philip argued, would risk losing significant enforcement and planning personnel, negatively impacting local service delivery. The council also acknowledged in January its dependence on agency workers from Lichfield West Midlands Traded Services, a company owned by Lichfield District Council.
To improve recruitment and retention, the council is conducting a comprehensive pay review to ensure competitive salaries.
Following the meeting, Councillor Rodrigues warned that ongoing dependence on temporary workers risks becoming “business as usual.” He criticized the Liberal Democrat administration for what he called wasteful agency spending amid rising council taxes, highlighting an example of a single temporary officer costing nearly £250,000 annually. Rodrigues stressed that taxpayers deserve careful stewardship of public funds rather than seeing millions funnelled away through costly agency contracts.