§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees under contract from temping agencies were working in his Department and how much was spent on temporary staff(a) as a total and (b) as a percentage of the total staffing budget in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [58186]
§ Ruth Kelly[holding answer 22 May 2002]: The total cost of temp services for the last five financial years along with a comparative percentage of total staffing costs is as follows:
Temp costs£ Percentage of total staffing costs 1997–98 156,823 0.5 1998–99 462,521 1.4 1999–2000 614,706 1.7 2000–01 929,800 2.4 2001–02 1,012,776 2.4 Actual numbers of staff under contract from temping agencies are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.