Angry councillors have raised concerns about the millions City Hall is spending on agency staff this year - almost double compared to the same period in 2022.  

Reports reveal Norwich City Council has spent almost £2.4m employing temporary workers across a range of departments, but what they do is left unclear. 

In total, between January and June 2023, City Hall spent £2,415,635.69 outsourcing staff. 

In the same period last year, the authority spent £1,325,197.77 - a difference of £1,090,437.92 between the two years.  

Lucy Galvin, leader of the Green group at Norwich City Council, described the rise in spending as "worrying". 

She said: "The doubling of spend in a year on agency staff is concerning.

"Green councillors have repeatedly flagged this issue and asked the council why there are so many agency staff, as well as the high numbers of often expensive interim senior managers which can cost the public purse dear with rates more like consultancy.

"Sometimes temporary posts are needed, but the council is now spending a fortune as well as building in a worrying potential lack of stability and accountability.

"It is also difficult to find out what exactly the city council spends this agency and interim money on, yet transparency in this area is essential.”

The spending comes after the council has had to fill a £6.2m budget gap for the financial year. 

A range of departments are listed in the spending reports, including IT and property services, professional finance and licensing.  

But the documents does not specify what the workers did for each department. 

A spokesman for the city council said the “stark reality” is the authority cannot “permanently employ all the right people” meaning agency staff are necessary, particularly when bidding for projects like the Town Deal fund - a set of eight schemes intended to improve Norwich. 

The spokesman refused to say what other specific projects temporary workers are involved in. 

The city council is involved in a series of major schemes, including the East Norwich Masterplan - which would create a new quarter of the city, and see 3,600 homes built and 4,000 jobs created- and led the redevelopment of Hay Hill, outside McDonald’s, which is set to transform the city centre space.

It has also needed to bring in contractors for a series of desperately needed safety repairs and fire door replacements in council flats, which could be part of the staffing costs.

The spokesman said the council is a “very big business” with a gross budget of over £200m.

“Turning funding opportunities into something real which makes a positive contribution to our residents' lives means we have to temporarily employ people with specialist skills when they don’t already exist in our workforce," he said. 

“This is now what local government looks like, across the whole of the country.

"We will continue to be openly ambitious for our city and our residents and won’t be left behind – this involves a real shift in thinking when it comes to understanding how local councils must now operate to be successful and financially stable.”