§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment 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. [131436]
§ Mr. Wills[holding answer 25 July 2000]: The Department is recruiting externally to fill 60 vacancies for permanent staff at present, across a range of grades, from administrative assistant to Senior Civil Service Band 2.
668WThere are also posts which are in the process of being filled by movement of existing staff (for example by promotion or lateral transfer) and which may be temporarily unfilled. The number varies daily but is commonly between 3 and 5 per cent. of total staff numbers.
The monthly cost to the Department of employing staff in the vacant positions currently being advertised is approximately £126,614.
The Department employs approximately 85 agency workers on an average working day, this figure is approximately 2 per cent. of the overall number of people employed by the Department.
The Department paid employment agencies approximately £104,166 each month in the last 12 months to supply temporary staff. The Department expects to pay employment agencies approximately £112,500 each month in the next 12 months to supply temporary staff.