Council agrees £75m contract to hire agency staff

City of Wolverhampton Council has agreed a new £75m contract to employ hundreds of temporary agency workers for the next three years.

The authority agreed the deal with its existing temporary recruitment partner Adecco having dissolved its own agency YOO Recruit after 11 years.

It agreed the contract after experiencing difficulties with recruiting and retaining staff, particularly in specialist roles in adults and children's social care, finance, procurement and IT.

A council report said that using agency workers was important to allow it to quickly respond to issues and demand for resource.

"The use of agency workers can help the council respond to peaks and troughs in service requirements," it said.

City of Wolverhampton Council has spent more than £82.5m on agency staff in the last five years, including £40m in the last two years, the report said.

The agency contract could be extended for a further two years which would push the total cost to £100m.

Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.