17 October 2006 | Rebecca Ellinor

National guidance to transform the way councils procure temporary staff has been unveiled.

It is hoped the measures will help local authorities to deliver savings of up to £100 million a year. London boroughs alone spend more than £500 million a year on temporary staff.

Transforming the Procurement of Temporary, Agency and Interim Staff was drawn up by the London Borough of Havering with funding from the London Centre of Excellence, one of nine regional centres set up to help councils improve procurement.

The Office of Government Commerce has adopted the guidance and is working with Havering and the nine centres to promote it nationally. Value Wales Procurement has also adopted the guidelines and is planning to issue them to Welsh local authorities to promote best practice.

Local government HR, finance and procurement professionals teamed up to write the guidance, which sets out the different approaches to attracting and engaging temporary workers. It also advises on how to select the approach best suited to an organisation's needs, as well as including the latest legal and HR advice and a number of good practice case studies.

Rob Sykes, chairman of the Chief Executives' Task Force, said: "This is landmark guidance which will be an invaluable resource to councils. It should inspire local authorities to deliver better professional standards and substantial efficiency gains in a significant area of public spending."

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