Viewpoint: Why has agency staff spending increased?

Why has agency staff spending increased?

A question councillors cannot agree on – should there be an inquiry into what has gone wrong with RBWM finances?

I originally thought it would cost too much and because a lot of the reasons are historical and known, and any further investigation may centre on staff who are no longer there, it seemed unnecessary.

However, I have discovered something that has made me more concerned about one area of finance that seems out of control since the new administration took over, in the published Payments to Suppliers reports.

Knowing that there was concern about the level of agency staff employed I thought it would be interesting to compare payments for agency staff between April 2023, before the election, and April 2025, expecting some sizeable reduction.

However, this was not the case as shown by the following data:

April 2023 – 69 payments – total cost £132,720.11 – Projected annual cost £1.6million.

April 2025 – 163 payments – total cost £311,989.66 – Projected annual cost £3.75million.

I know recruitment is a problem for some reason but who authorises all these orders and why have they got so out of control when we know how bad the financial position is?

The 163 payments a month (nearly 2,000 a year) need quite a bit of administration time.

Also, are these temporary staff familiar or experienced in local government work?

How many other issues are there like this and how can it be prevented?

To have an inquiry would likely increase the agency staff needed but one thing that I believe is urgently required is to employ an in-house Head of Audit.

At present the council relies on an outside auditor in a consortium based on the south coast.

I’m too polite to mention a recent experience with them.

I should add that this is not the auditor currently carrying out the audit of the 2024/25 accounts.

BARRY GIGGINS

Greenacre

Windsor

Union flag has specific correct way to be flown

I saw several Union flags flying upside down around Maidenhead recently, and as photographed in the Advertiser last week (September 26).

This inversion is traditionally a maritime distress signal, but it can also be seen as an insult or a sign of protest, though it's often simply an honest mistake due to the flag’s near-symmetrical design.

The Union flag has a specific correct way to be flown: in the corner nearest the flagpole, the wider white diagonal stripe (from St Andrew’s Cross of Scotland) must be above the narrower red diagonal stripe (St Patrick's Cross of Ireland).

Dr B L Smith

River Road

Taplow

Is secret army quietly hoisting flags at night?

Does anyone see the flags being put up in our town?

I was on my way to bed last week and looked out of the window to see the lampposts in Norreys Drive covered in them.

I don’t remember hearing any sound – are they put up using long ladders or cherry pickers?

Is there a secret army of people who come out quietly at night and where are they getting all these flags from?

I’m a patriot but I also embrace people from different cultures who live in our country and indeed our town.

I don’t like these flags – they don't look patriotic to me, but they do look racist.

Indeed, I want to like them, but not in
the context that they are being put up recently.

I hope the same people who put them up are eventually going to come along and take them all down but somehow I doubt it.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

Papers please – echoes of The Great Escape

Regarding this latest idiotic government scheme to introduce compulsory digital ID cards to everyone by the year 2029, this coincides with the 90th anniversary of World War Two breaking out and the last time ID cards were legitimately needed.

Is the intention to return to the dynamics of that time period? Your papers please on demand albeit in digital form?

The era is well demonstrated in the film The Great Escape, the true story of the POW Camp Stalag 111 breakout.

Eric Ashley Pit’s (Dispersal) forged papers, and his German speaking being sufficient to fool the guards on the train before sacrificing himself by shooting the Gestapo agent on the railway station platform, in order to give Bartlett (Big X) a fighting chance of escaping, in which he temporarily succeeds in doing so.

Bartlett and Macdonald (Intelligence) are later caught out by the oldest trick of being spoken to and replying in English to the Gestapo whilst attempting to board a bus, Bartlett runs but is collared shortly afterwards, with the greeting, ‘Ah Herr Bartlett, your German is good, your French too! Your arms up!’

Whilst the near future is unlikely to feature quite this kind of scenario, the thinking behind it is similar.

Finally on the subject of the very near – we hope – future, will Starmer be around long enough to implement this crazy, costly, tried before and failed scheme?

We hope not!

TONY BECK

Frogmill Spinney

Hurley

An open and shut case?

Re Ann Darracott’s letter (Viewpoint, September 26) the weir at Green Lane which raises the water as advertised also has a sluice gate.

Just open this to allow a few tonnes of water through for the walkers and close it to give the canoe and kayak people deep water to paddle in.

Physics, innit.

MDG

Forlease Drive

Maidenhead

Unique event brings six composers together

Many thanks for the preview of the forthcoming performance by St John’s CO of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Choral Fantasia at Norden Farm on Saturday, October 11, which marks the end of the orchestra’s post-COVID Complete Beethoven Symphonies cycle.

The free pre-concert platform performance may well be of interest to young composers as well as a wider audience.

‘New Perspectives’ is a unique event, bringing together six composers, all in their early 20s, whose works will be performed for the first time here in Maidenhead.

Each has composed a three-minute piano work inspired by Beethoven’s Ninth – a snapshot of responses in a range of styles and emotions.

The new works will be performed by Mengyang Pan (Professor at the Royal College of Music and piano soloist in the Fantasia), Nigel Wilkinson (conductor of St John’s CO), Hayden Miller and Edward Harris-Brown.

New Perspectives is at 6.30pm in the Courtyard Theatre, Norden Farm Centre for the Arts on Saturday, October 11, and lasts 30 minutes (Free entry, no booking required).

JAY WILKINSON

Cannon Lane

Maidenhead

Please close the -gate

Just when we thought there were no more
‘-gate’ suffixes in poltiics, they’re back in numbers.

You might recall at COVID time in 2022 – partygate, beergate, porkygate, whipgate etc.

Now we have blubbergate (certain Labours MPs), Mandygate (Lord Mandelson/
Epstein), blundergate (current Labour PM), reversegate (current Labour PM), floodgate (number of folk and MPs leaving the Labour Party), and net zero tzargate.

The Prime Minister is trying to mitigate with still the most frightening nine words in the English language:

“I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”

Arrgh! This time do send in the Daleks and Extermigate! Extermigate! Extermigate!

T D SMITH

Village Road

Dorney