Hackney (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Hackney Council is projected to spend nearly £40m on temporary workers this year as it struggles to recruit and retain specialist employees.
According to financial reports released by Hackney Council last month, the local government anticipates spending more than £39.6 million on agency staff by the end of March 2026. Council finance chief Cllr Robert Chapman, acknowledged that there had been recruitment problems, especially with regard to “specialist or hard-to-fill roles,” but he said the authority was concentrating on hiring and keeping more permanent employees.
The most recent numbers are better than those from the previous year, when the council spent an astounding £53 million on temporary employees. The council said it was “already forecasting a drastic reduction in agency spend” after the reform of council services in its October 27 report.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Cllr Chapman said: “Our aim is to maintain a stable, skilled workforce that provides consistent, high-quality services for Hackney residents.”
Climate, Homes and Economy, the council directorate in charge of housing construction and the borough’s decarbonization program, spends the greatest money (£10 million) on agency personnel. According to documents, filling permanent open positions has accounted for more than half (£6.4 million) of this department’s temporary workforce expenditures this year.
Interim and external contracts are “endemic” in this area, according to a council insider. They further mentioned that since 2022, there has been a significant senior director turnover in the directorate.
The LDRS reported in August that earlier this summer, there were threats of strike action in response to the council’s recent recommendations to restructure several elements of the housing department. However, the walkouts were eventually canceled after discussions.
Additionally, the LDRS is aware that the council recently eliminated the position of Strategic Director of Housing Services.
Caroline Woodley, the mayor of Hackney, had stated that the Town Hall’s “Corporate Transformation” project will address its estimated £51 million budget deficit over the following three years.
Mayor Woodley made it clear in September that this would entail eliminating 220 council positions while attempting to keep the number of mandatory layoffs to a minimum. According to her, this would result in a total of 90 layoffs that were “primarily” caused by lowering agency workforce.
More than 90% of councils were having trouble filling positions in at least one occupation, according to a 2024 Local Government Association (LGA) poll.
How Connect2Hackney aims to reduce recruitment and agency spending?
Connect2Hackney is a cooperation between Hackney Council and Commercial Services Group designed to reduce reclamation and agency spending by revolutionizing the council’s approach to hiring temporary and specialist workers. The program aims to bring reclamation back under the council’s direct control, cutting reliance on expensive external agencies and limiting the high freights generally associated with agency staffing.
By creating a streamlined, in- house reclamation platform, Connect2Hackney enables briskly and more effective hiring processes, perfecting access to original gift and furnishing acclimatized pool results. The action focuses on boosting original employment, especially among residents new to the pool or facing walls to employment, thereby also supporting social value and community benefits.
This approach is anticipated to induce significant cost savings for the council by reducing agency freights and adding staff retention, while helping to address the specialist chops dearths in frontline services similar as social care, waste, and casing.