HC Deb 24 July 2002 vol 389 cc1132-3W
Sandra Gidley

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many employees under contract from temping agencies worked in her Department; and how much was spent on temporary staff (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the total staffing budget in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [72643]

Clare Short

The information on staff numbers is set out in the following table as at 1 April 2001 and 1 April 2002, which are the only two of the last five years for which figures are available. The table shows the information as a percentage of total DFID staff numbers in the UK.

April 2001 April 2002
Temporary agency staff employed 29 58
Temporary agency staff as a percentage of total staff number in UK 2.2 3.6

No central data are held on the cost of agency staff. However as a proportion of the total staffing budget, this will be less than percentages for staff numbers shown in the table because the majority of such staff are contracted to fill temporary positions at junior level.