The GMB is to write to councils and ask them to act to reduce the amount of money they “waste” on temporary and agency staff.

A GMB study found that 434 councils in the UK spent more than £1.5bn on agency and temporary staff in a single year.

Brian Strutton, GMB national secretary for public service, says: “Council spending on temporary and agency staff generally represents very bad value for money for the public. In most cases the only winners are the employment agencies who take a considerable slice of this money for administration and profits. The temporary staff meanwhile get paid less than the permanent staff while the councils pay more to the agency than it would cost to employ the workers direct.”

Strutton says the GMB has worked with councils to reduce the amount they spend on non-permanent staff. This has resulted in improved services to the public, better pay and working conditions for the staff and savings for council tax payers, he said.