Information about Cost for FSS Agency Staff

Your request was about the following information:

Q1. What was the value of spend on temporary staff from recruitment agencies by Food Standards Scotland from April 2023 to June 2024?

Q1a. Please ensure that a gross spend value is detailed and include all spend associated to any contract let for the management/provision of temporary staff by a contracted provider (whether Vendor neutral or Master vendor). Please ensure that all figures are provided separately by year.

Q2. If you have a managed service provider (MSP) in place for the provision of temporary agency staff, please provide the following.

Q2a. How was the contract to manage/provide the supply of agency/temporary staff sent?

Q2b. Who was the contract to manage/provide the supply of agency/temporary staff sent to?

Q2c. When did the contract to manage/provide the supply of temporary/agency staff commence, how long does it run for and what is the end date?

Q3. If you use Frameworks please state which frameworks you use and for which categories of staff

Q4. If you don’t have a managed service provider (MSP) in place for the provision of temporary recruitment agency staff, which recruitment agencies do you use, and what basis were they awarded? Q5. Please can you provide details of the names of the decision-makers who ultimately decide which recruitment agencies your organisation uses.

Q6. Please provide the name(s) of the person(s) who the manage the recruitment agency contract on a day-to-day basis.

Q7. Please advise what the permanent agency spend was between April 2023 to June 2024.

A1. In Food Standards Scotland (FFS) we spent on temporary staff from recruitment agencies from April 2023 to June 2024 the amount of £990,705

A1a. April 2023 to March 2024 - £672,492 April 2024 to June 2024 - £318,213 Total - £990,705

A2. Not applicable. There is not one single supplier for the supply of temporary agency staff.

A2a. Not applicable.

A2b. Not applicable.

A2c. Not applicable.

A3. In FSS we use the below Frameworks:

• APHA (Animal and Plant health Agency) Specialist Resourcing framework; Lot 1, was utilised for veterinary personal staff.

• Scottish Government Temp, Catering & Manual Staff Services Framework 2019 (3rd generation); North Region, was utilised for Temporary Administrative Staff Services.

• Scottish Government Interim Professional Staff Services Framework 2019 (3rd generation); National, was utilised for Interim Staff Services.

• Scottish Government Temporary Admin, Catering & Manual Staff Services Framework 2023 (4th generation); North region, was utilised Administrative and Finance Staff Services.

• Scottish Government Interim Professional Services Framework 2023 (4th generation); National, was utilised for Interim Staff Services.

• Scottish Government Interim IT Staff Services Framework 2023 (4th generation); National, was utilised for Interim IT Staff.

You can find details of the frameworks here

A4. The agencies (suppliers) used by FSS are detailed below:

• For contracts awarded via Scot Gov Framework Agreements, please find attached the list of interim and professional agency suppliers used Procurement - temporary and interim staff services frameworks 2023 to 2027

• For contracts awarded via APHA Framework, the suppliers used are Eville & Jones (GB) Ltd and Mistev Export Health Certification Ltd.

A5. We are unable to provide you with the details with the names of the decisionmakers who ultimately decide which recruitment agencies we use in FSS as Section 38(1)(b) (Personal information) FOISA applies to the content. 

A6. We are unable to provide you with the name(s) of the person(s) who manage the recruitment agency contract on a day-to-day basis as Section 38(1)(b) (Personal information) FOISA applies to the content. The reason why the exemption applies is explained in the Annex to this letter.

A7. Nil.