A CONTRACT placed by Swindon Borough Council a company specialising in sourcing temporary staff has saved the authority £400,000.

Members of the Euclid Street’s resources and corporate overview and scrutiny committee will be told next week, since placing the contract with Matrix, in July 2018 the council has spent much less on stand-in staff compared to the year before.

The council has aspirations to employ fewer temporary staff, members will hear. The report will tell them that it is looking to cuts its use of locums by five per cent this year, particularly in the areas of social workers in children’s services, and communities and housing.

The committee will be told that the authority’s sick rate, at an average of 10 days per staff member per year is reducing, but still higher than the national average for the public sector at nine days.

the authority has set itself a target of an average annual sick absence of seven days per employee.

The meeting will be held at 6pm on Tuesday September 24 at Euclid Street.