Wandsworth Council's spending on agency staff has increased by £1 million in the past year, according to a report presented at the Richmond and Wandsworth Joint Staffing Committee meeting on Thursday, 10th July 2025.
The Workforce Indicators and Trends report, available here, revealed that while agency usage through Adecco has remained stable for the past two quarters, overall agency expenditure has risen significantly. The £1 million increase is related to agency usage through Adecco, according to the report. The increase in FTE (Full Time Equivalent) within the councils can be explained by several reasons.
In Adult Social Care and Public Health (ASC&PH), the main reasons for the FTE increase have been due to the transfer of the Refugee Resettlement service from the Chief Executive Directorate and investment in early entry programs such as ASYE (Assessed and Supported Year in Employment) and Think Ahead, aimed at reducing longer term reliance on agency workers.
In Environment and Community Services (ECS), there has been an increase due to new initiatives and short-term capacity to support changes due to be implemented through the Leisure Strategy. The report also highlighted high levels of off-framework (non-Adecco) agency expenditure up to the end of March 2025.
Finance has seen successful recruitment of trainees, apprentices and assistants in many areas, including shared teams such as Fraud and Pensions, as well as additional capacity in collections teams.
A detailed review is currently underway to address the rising costs. The committee has been promised updates regarding efforts to reduce the cost and usage of off-framework agency spend.