To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for (a) temporary and (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997. (151670)

The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors made payments to a number of employment agencies in respect of agency employees during this period but the information requested is not held centrally.

The Department’s policy is to engage temporary agency staff only through competitively negotiated framework contracts which provide value for money for the Department. The central part of the Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors paid the following amounts to recruitment consultants in relation to permanent staff.

It would cost a disproportionate amount to obtain information prior to 2002-03.