Under what circumstances it employs staff on agency contracts rather than fixed-term or permanent contracts.

Permanent or fixed term contract opportunities with the SPCB are, with very limited exceptions, advertised through fair and open competition, either internally or externally. Subject to the SPCB’s normal approval process for filling vacancies, the majority of permanent vacancies are recruited to on a permanent basis as they arise. For temporary requirements the decision on how they are filled is made on a case by case basis depending on the following factors:

The predicted length of assignment, with longer term vacancies being more suited to a fixed term recruitment exercise
How urgently the vacancy needs to be filled, and whether there is time to carry out a fixed term recruitment exercise
The skills and experience required for the post, and whether the requirement would best met by engaging specialist agencies or through an SPCB recruitment exercise
The need to cover vacancies whilst permanent or fixed term recruitment exercises are undertaken
The need to increase capability quickly by bringing in experienced practitioners whilst our own staff are developed
A requirement to flex capacity in response to demand
Where there is a requirement specialist skills that cannot be accommodated in the SPCB’s pay and grading structure, for instance where the market value is higher
Whether the requirement is foreseen to be long term and predictable or more irregular
Whether the requirement can be met internally
Whether there are any organisational factors that need to be taken into account, for instance an office or service review that makes committing to an SPCB contract undesirable

From 2016 staff on the SPCB’s Apprenticeship Programme have filled temporary vacancies upon qualification, prior to them securing permanent employment with the SPCB, as an alternative to using agency staff. In addition as part of the SPCB’s temporary resourcing strategy, the organisation is reducing its use of agency workers through a variety of measures, including advertising fixed term appointments which would previously have been filled on an agency basis, the creation of an SPCB temporary resourcing pool of candidates who may be offered fixed term contracts, internal staff transfers and more use of interchange and secondments with other organisations.

Provision has also been made for investment in our in-house IT capacity, the cost of which will be partially offset by a reduction in the use of IT agency staff within projects. A number of these new posts have been filled on a permanent basis in the current financial year, with further posts proposed (subject to approval on the basis of a robust business case).