§ Mr. HallTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the private employment agencies used by his Department and its agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available, indicating(a) the names of the agencies, (b) the numbers employed by the agencies in work for his Department, (c) the total cost to his Department of using employment agencies and the median cost paid to the agency per person recruited and (d) the average length of contract for persons recruited via such agencies. [16185]
§ Mr. StreeterThis reply is given on behalf of the Court Service, the Land Registry, the Northern Ireland Court Service, the Public Record Office, the Lord Chancellor's Department headquarters and its associated offices, and the Public Trust Office. No comprehensive records are held centrally and it has not therefore been possible in the time available to supply all the information sought or to verify some of the details provided.
Total expenditure in the Court Service during 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97 to date was £927,575, £2,103,273 and £1,870,237 respectively. No information is held centrally about the names of the agencies used, the number of staff employed or the length of contracts. It has not therefore been possible to determine the median cost per person recruited.
The Public Record Office has used five agencies; Blue Arrow, Brook Street, Reed, Kelly Services and Hays Accountancy. Total expenditure in 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97 to date was £149,968.57, £223,260.31 and £202,034.45 respectively. No information is available about the number of staff employed or the length of the contracts. It has not therefore been possible to determine the median cost per person recruited.
688WCost information for the Public Trust Office and LCD headquarters was not kept separately during 1994–95 but total expenditure in this year was £439,462. This related to the employment of 134 agency staff in LCD headquarters and its associated offices, and 38 agency staff in the Public Trust Office.
The Public Trust Office has used six employment agencies in the last three years; Ecco Employment Agency Hays Accountancy Personnel, Eclipse, Myriad, Key Entry and Recruit Plc. In 1995–96, 125 staff were employed; and in 1996–97 to date, 127 staff have been employed, at a cost of £24,208 and £514,717 respectively.
In LCD headquarters and its associated offices, 108 agency staff were employed during 1995–96, and 113 in 1996–97 to date, at a cost of £834,534 and £565,490 respectively. A total of 12 agencies have been used; Alfred Marks, City Centre Bureau, PS Personnel, Eclipse, Workflow, Kelly Services, Excel, Dagmar Tara, Premier Ltd and Adecco UK Ltd. As neither organisation holds detailed records, it has not been possible to determine the median cost per person recruited.
The Northern Ireland Court Service has used two employment agencies during the period in question; Grafton Recruitment and Kennedy Recruitment. A total of eight, seven and six staff were employed in the last three years, at a cost of £73,946,78, £36,213.77 and £36,610.88 respectively. Based on 1966 figures, the median cost in respect of Grafton Recruitment was approximately £60 per day, £4.50 per hour in respect of Kennedy Recruitment but the average length of contract is not known, as each case varied according to staffing needs.
The Land Registry has not used private employment agencies in the last three years.