An investigation from ITV Good Morning Britain has found that schools in the UK are spending £1.26 billion a year on supply teachers with £846 million of this being spent on recruitment agencies, reports the Sun.

The recruitment agencies retained up to 30% (£253 million) of the commission earned from supplying teachers to cover unfulfilled teacher and posts and temporary absences. The figures were revealed by ITV's Good Morning Britain as it relates to government spend on supply agencies for 2014 to 2015.

The investigation featured interviews with several teachers who criticised the recruitment agencies with one saying, “Some agencies are just interested in filling the slot and they don’t really care about who goes there as long as they provide a body.”

The REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) has responded to the comments: "These accusations are wildly unfair, misleading and don't accurately reflect the important role agencies play," Kate Shoesmith, head of policy and public affairs at REC, said.

The Department for Education said supply teachers typically represent "a small proportion" of schools' total spending.