§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many unfilled vacancies for permanent staff his Department has; what percentage of staff positions in his Department are vacant; what the monthly cost would be to his Department of employing civil servants in these positions; how many and what percentage of staff his Department employs on a temporary basis through employment agencies; how much his Department paid employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the last 12 months; and how much he expects to pay employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the next 12 months. [131434]
§ Mr. HainThere are currently around 150 unfilled vacancies within the Department. This is 2.7 per cent. of the total number of staff positions in the Department. The monthly cost of filling these positions by civil servants would be £241,000. There are currently around 20 temporary staff employed throughout the Department, less than 0.5 per cent. of the total number of staff. The Department paid £971,657 to employment agencies in the year 1999–2000. In the financial year to date the Department has spent £221,146 out of a total allocation for the financial year of £838,096. Monthly figures for expenditure on temporary staff could be provided only at disproportionate costs.