WHITEHALL was left with a £500,000 bill for bringing in temporary cover for a senior civil service job because the department could not find anyone else to do it, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said last night.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) went to recruitment firm Capita Resourcing for an interim director of finance, while it looked for a permanent appointment.
It “provided the services” of Stephen Park on a temporary basis. But two “trawls” for a permanent replacement failed to turn up candidates of the “appropriate calibre”, so he remained in post for 16 months, costing the department “more than £500,000”.
Mr Pickles told the Commons CLG committee: “It was unacceptably high.
“But we are responsible for a lot of money and the director of finance must have experience of government and appropriate qualifications.”
