PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Employment Agencies (26 January 2015)

To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, how many recruitment and employment agencies the House of Commons Commission has used to source staff in each year since 2010-11.

Asked by:
Lucy Powell (Labour)

The information is not available in the format requested.

The House of Commons had its own Recruitment Framework which it used to source non-specialist temporary staff from 2010/11 to 2012/13. Since 2013/14 the House has used the Crown Commercial Service’s Non-Medical Non-Clinical Framework.

There were up to 30 potential suppliers on the House of Commons Recruitment Framework. There are 143 suppliers on the Crown Commercial Service’s framework, although in practice the House has obtained workers from four of the listed suppliers.

In addition, the Catering Services Directorate operates its own framework which currently includes six suppliers, of which three are predominantly utilised.

Occasionally the House has been required to source temporary staff from alternative agencies when there is a lack of availability of suitable workers, and has used approximately five alternative agencies since 1 April 2013.

Answered by:
Viscount Thurso (Liberal Democrat)
2 February 2015