TWENTY per cent of staff in Thurrock Council’s social care department are from an agency – costing “at least twice” as much as those directly employed.

The department, which had an overspend of £1,646,892 last year, employs 21 team managers, three practice managers, 97 social workers or senior practitioners, ten leaving care workers and 46 other family support or centre workers.

A report to the authority’s children’s services overview and scrutiny committee said staffing costs are the “biggest single contributor to the overspends in the social care budgets”.

The report stated: “This is for two reasons – firstly, 20 per cent of social work staff are contracted from a agencies at an average cost that is at least twice that of a directly employed social worker and secondly, there are four staff employed over and above the established number of posts, recruited to assist with responding to the increased workload.

“Therefore, not only are some posts covered by agency social workers at twice the cost of a permanent members of staff but there are also additional agency workers, above the establishment.”

The report also says unless “concerted action” is taken, next year the department could overspend again by £871,358.

The council’s cabinet member for children’s social care, Labour’s Charles Curtis said that since Labour took control of the authority in May, ten agency workers had gone.

He said: “This was one of the first things we looked at.

“When making cuts we must look at the agency staff before we look at anybody else “Where we have vacancies, and good agency workers, I hope they will join us permanently.”