Confusion over staffing figures at Herefordshire Council

Nationally, more than two million people are employed by Local Government, making it one of the largest employers in the UK.

The number of people employed by Herefordshire Council varies from year to year. For example, when Commercial Services won a cleaning contract two years ago the number of staff employed instantly rose by a few hundred.

Grants are won for special community-based projects, such as the Education Action Zone.

This sometimes means additional people can be employed to help work on projects to make communities even better places to live and work - without being an additional burden to the Council Tax payer.

People leave the council at a rate of around 9-10 per cent every year - around 400-500 people.

This means there is a lot of recruitment activity.

All jobs are advertised regularly and openly in the community and on the internet via the council's website. There are 1,291 different types of jobs in the council; for example, cleaners, teachers, care assistants and planners.

Unlike my own role at the council, 95 per cent of staff are employed in the face-to-face provision of services to the people of the county with more than three quarters involved in educating the county's young people, and in home care/social care.

Currently the total number the council employs is 7,471.

More than half of these (65 per cent) are "permanent".

Some staff work part time and have more than one job - for example a teacher may work part time in two or three separate schools, making up one full time job.

I hope you're getting the picture - the number of staff employed by the council is constantly changing - but this fluctuation is in a way irrelevant.

What's important to note is that the Council employs those people it needs to provide quality services.

NEIL PRINGLE, Chief Executive Herefordshire Council.