Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.

The MoJ spent £182,428,000 on non-payroll staff in 2015-16. Successive administrations have recruited non-payroll staff to fill short-term business critical roles where the permanent workforce does not have the required skills. These roles are mainly linked to major reform programmes. Agency workers are also recruited into administrative roles where it is value for money to have a flexible workforce due to peaks and troughs in demand. However as part of this Government's MOJ Transformation programme the department is looking to reduce expenditure on non-payroll staff.