By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
The contracts of two agency building surveyors have been extended by Nottingham City Council for the third time at a cost of £130,000 for six months of work.
According to the Labour-run authority, work to recruit for permanent positions has failed to bear fruit.
The council has been paying for agency workers since around April last year, when one surveyor retired and another handed their notice in.
Projected costs of employing agency staff have since reached £390,000.
Building control is a duty the council must provide by law, and without urgent support the council says it would not be able to deliver its services.
Surveyors typically conduct work to check the structural integrity and fire safety of new buildings in the city.
A decision has been made outside of a council meeting to extend the contracts of the agency workers for a further six months until December this year.
Up until now the planning services offered by the council had generated enough money to cover the costs without putting additional pressures on its budgets.
However the extension of the contracts for the third time will this time create an £80,000 financial pressure on the council’s Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP), which sets out the financial outlook over the next four years.
Council delegated decision documents say: “Currently, there are two agency posts in place to ensure service continuity prior to allow sufficient time for permanent recruitment and appointment, and pending a remuneration review by HR.
“Support is required for up to a further six months to December 2023.”
The council says it has failed to attract candidates for the permanent roles, even despite offering a £5,000 supplement.
It has been struggling to hire staff in many departments due to difficult market conditions and its reputation following financial problems, among other factors.
This has led to the need to fill the gaps with external consultants and agency staff, particularly amid the continued need to meet targets set by a Government-appointed improvement board.
In January, a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed £5.5m had been spent by the council on consultants as part of its improvement work.
“There are known recruitment and pay challenges within both the broader market and specifically in this area of expertise,” council documents add.
“Several longer-term options to support resourcing are being considered, however, in the interim, consideration of continuing immediate resourcing through an agency is considered the most viable option and is therefore supported.
“The costs for the above will be continued and part funded
from existing vacancies within the team which we have been unable to recruit to, however this is insufficient to cover the full cost.
“The net cost of £80,440 will therefore create a budget pressure.”
