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UK - APSCo joins in the slamming of Jeremy Hunt for sham consultation over agency worker spending cap

24 November 2015

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), the trade body which represents recruitment firms operating in professional sectors, has accused Jeremy Hunt of a sham consultation on NHS agency worker price caps which came into effect yesterday, 23 November. APSCo said the move that will place patient safety at serious risk and expose Trusts to legal risk.

“The consultation on proposed price caps for NHS agency workers closed on Friday 13 November – I cannot see how the responses can have been collated, read, considered and decisions made within five working days of the consultation closing – this is a complete sham,” Samantha Hurley, Head of External Relations & Compliance at APSCo, said.

Hurley’s comments echo that of patient safety concerns from the REC.

“This is just another example of Mr Hunt riding roughshod over professional opinion and common sense.  At best it displays a total ignorance of the staffing issues being faced by the Department he heads up – at worst it is headline grabbling political posturing.”

In its own response to the consultation APSCo states that it supports the government’s efforts to control spending and in principle also supports the introduction of price caps but feels that the government is trying to do too much too soon.

“What does not appear in the headlines about agency staff is that recruitment firms undertake a level of compliance and safeguarding in excess of the NHS’ own standards – which currently costs the agency between £300 and £450 per worker. The price caps will make this level of expenditure unsustainable.”