School spending on supply teacher agencies in the UK has increased by 18.5%, from £469 million in 2012-13 to £556 million in 2015-16 as MPs warn that the Government has no long term strategy to address staff shortages, reports the Telegraph.  The demand for supply teachers is high enough that agencies typically charge a commission fee of up to 30%. Meanwhile, MPs have stated they want more active efforts to reduce the number of teachers quitting and want to reduce the burdens placed on school budgets by supply teacher agencies.

The Commons Education Select Committee has also said the Government had missed recruitment targets five years in a row and has called for a stronger focus to retain teachers and a cap for the number of hours they work.