Recruitment agency spend: FOI release (reference 4798)

22 May 2020

16 June 2020

1. Please advise the total spend on recruitment agencies in the last 12 months?
2. Please advise what the temporary agency spend for admin, call centre, data processing and clerical roles in the last 12 months?
3. Please advise what the temporary agency spend for roles such as warehouse, catering and cleaners in the last 12 months?
4. Please advise what the permanent agency spend has been in the last 12 months?
5. Which recruitment agencies have you used in the last 12 months for admin, call centre, data processing , clerical, warehouse, catering and cleaners?
6. Which framework agreements do you use for agencies? ie Scottish Government, APUK, Crown Commercial Services?
7. What process do recruitment agencies have to follow to be given jobs to work on?
8. Who is responsible for engaging new recruitment agencies?

We firstly wish to advise that Scottish Enterprise have not used recruitment agencies for traditional recruitment purposes over the past twelve months i.e. as a means of filling specific vacancies and recruiting staff to become Scottish Enterprise employees on temporary or permanent employment contracts.

We do however operate contracts for certain functions, such as cleaning, catering, warehouse, security and admin services. These contracts are issued through open tender processes via Scottish Government Frameworks or Crown Commercial Services. These tenders are therefore open to any company if they wish to bid, and so includes recruitment agencies should they meet the requirements set out in each tender brief. This explains why we currently have a contract with a recruitment agency for an administration / clerical contract. We provide this advice in order to highlight the difference between a recruitment agency appointed to fill specific vacancies, and contracts secured by a recruitment agency following a tender process. On that basis, our response is as follows:

1. £2,102,673.61
2. £1,205,078.59 for admin staff, provided under a contract held by a recruitment agency.
3. £0. These functions are managed within contracts held by facilities management companies that were tendered though open tender processes.
4. £0
5. Scottish Enterprise have a contract with Pertemps for admin functions only, which was tendered through an open tender process.
6. Scottish Enterprise utilise the Scottish Government Framework in the first instance for all types of contracts and thereafter Crown Commercial Services.
7. Scottish Enterprise does not actively engage with recruitment agencies. For tenders, Scottish Enterprise follows the call off guidance of the Framework and issue Invitations to Quote to all suppliers on the framework via Quick Quotes.
8. Scottish Enterprise does not actively engage with recruitment agencies. However, as our contract frameworks are set up through open competition, any recruitment agency can bid for contracts should they meet the requirements set out in the tender brief.