Money for Agency Companies and Capita – But Not for Our Members or Services

Local, Membership, News, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Barnet UNISON members are being told there’s no money – cuts to jobs, services and even our paid time off to represent you are being pushed through.

Yet at the same time, Barnet Council’s spending on agency staff, consultants and Capita has reached record levels.

The reality:

  • £24.02 million spent on agency workers in the last year – an all‑time high.
  • £27.03 million paid to Capita in the same year – even though their role is now limited to Customer Services, IT, Revenues and Benefits (and Payroll has now been taken back in‑house from April 2025).
  • Meanwhile, frontline services and trade union facility time are under attack.

We have been here before. During last year’s redundancy consultations, the Council told staff the cuts were unavoidable because of the financial crisis. They promised to look at savings and new income streams.
Barnet UNISON set out clear concerns in our briefing, Three Chief Executives and a Plumber (read here), including the spiralling costs of agency staff and Capita contracts. Sadly, those warnings were ignored.

More questionable spending decisions

  • The Council depot is being partly handed back to Network Rail – forcing the Council to rent expensive alternative premises despite claiming there’s “no money”.
  • Staff at Colindale are now facing consultation on charging for car parking. One member summed up the feeling:
    “They took away the water, then the tea and coffee, and now they want to take away the free parking. What’s next?”

What happens next?
We are now waiting for the next chapter in the Council’s cost‑cutting plan: a report from consultants Peopletoo is due to be considered by Cabinet on Tuesday 16 September. This will set out their proposals for “savings” and “income generation”.

Barnet UNISON will keep members updated as soon as we know more – and we will continue to challenge a system that finds millions for agency staff and Capita but claims it can’t fund the people and services our community depends on.