FOI – 2023-000342 - Temporary Staff (HTML)

Date received – 09 September 2023 | Date responded – 02 October 2023

Request

I am writing to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act regarding Temporary Staff Management. Please can you complete the attached questions.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Sourced Staffing Arrangements

1a. Do you have a master vendor (MV) or neutral vendor (NV) arrangement in place for sourcing agency staff? If so, please state which arrangement is in place

1b. What is the name of the MV/NV provider(s) and what staffing groups do they source? e.g. medical, nursing etc.

1c. As part of the arrangement, is any technology provided by the supplier to help manage the procurement of agency staff?

1d. Please provide the contract start and end date for the supplier (dd/mm/yy)

Direct Engagement

2a. Does the organisation use a third party to provide a Direct Engagement/Outsourced Employment Solution? (This is where the NHS organisation sources agency staff via a recruitment agency but hold a direct contract between the organisation and the worker - there is often VAT savings associated to this employment model)

2b. What is the name of the Direct Engagement (DE)/Outsourced Employment supplier (e.g 247Time/Allocate, PlusUs, Retinue, Liaison etc.)

2c. Under the DE/Outsourced Employment arrangement, which staffing groups are managed? For example; Medical, Admin, Scientific staff. Please list all applicable

2d. Please provide the contract start and end date for the DE supplier (dd/mm/yy)

2f. How much did the organisation pay the supplier in 22/23 (April 2022 to March 2023) for the provision of the direct engagement service?

Vendor Management System for Nurse Agency

3a. Does the organisation use a third-party Vendor Management System for the supply of nurse agency staff?

3b. Who supplies your Vendor Management System? E.g. Allocate, NHSP etc.

3c. Please provide the contract start and end date for this provider (dd/mm/yy)

Bank Management

4a. Please name the technology provider used to manage the supply of your bank staff, inclusive of any outsourced or managed arrangements (i.e. NHSP, Bank Partners, Allocate, Liaison, Patchwork, Locum's Nest etc). If more than one supplier is used, please name all suppliers

4b. Please name the staffing group each provider is used for e.g. medical, nursing, AHPs, admin and clerical

4c. Please provide the contract start and end date for each bank supplier (dd/mm/yy)

4d. How much did the organisation pay the supplier(s) in 22/23 for the provision of the bank service?

Response

Sourced Staffing Arrangements

1a. Do you have a master vendor (MV) or neutral vendor (NV) arrangement in place for sourcing agency staff? If so, please state which arrangement is in place

Under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act an organisation does not require to provide information if it does not hold that information. NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) engages with agencies directly and does not have a master vendor or neutral vendor arrangement in place for sourcing agency staff.

1b. What is the name of the MV/NV provider(s) and what staffing groups do they source? e.g. medical, nursing etc.

N/A, as per response to question 1a.

1c. As part of the arrangement, is any technology provided by the supplier to help manage the procurement of agency staff?

N/A, as per response to question 1a.

1d. Please provide the contract start and end date for the supplier (dd/mm/yy)

N/A, as per response to question 1a.

Direct Engagement

2a. Does the organisation use a third party to provide a Direct Engagement/Outsourced Employment Solution? (This is where the NHS organisation sources agency staff via a recruitment agency but hold a direct contract between the organisation and the worker - there is often VAT savings associated to this employment model)

Under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act an organisation does not require to provide information if it does not hold that information. NSS do not operate a Direct Engagement/Outsourced Employment Solution. We deal directly with third party agency companies but have no contracts in place between organisation and workers.

2b. What is the name of the Direct Engagement (DE)/Outsourced Employment supplier (e.g 247Time/Allocate, PlusUs, Retinue, Liaison etc.)

N/A, as per response to question 2a.

2c. Under the DE/Outsourced Employment arrangement, which staffing groups are managed? For example; Medical, Admin, Scientific staff. Please list all applicable

N/A, as per response to question 2a.

2d. Please provide the contract start and end date for the DE supplier (dd/mm/yy)

N/A, as per response to question 2a.

2f. How much did the organisation pay the supplier in 21/22 (April 2021 to March 2022) for the provision of the direct engagement service?

N/A, as per response to question 2a.

Vendor Management System for Nurse Agency

3a. Does the organisation use a third-party Vendor Management System for the supply of nurse agency staff?

Under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act an organisation does not require to provide information if it does not hold that information. NSS does not use a third-party Vendor Management System for the supply of nurse agency staff.

3b. Who supplies your Vendor Management System? E.g. Allocate, NHSP etc.

N/A, as per response to question 3a.

3c. Please provide the contract start and end date for this provider (dd/mm/yy)

N/A, as per response to question 3a.

Bank Management

4a. Please name the technology provider used to manage the supply of your bank staff, inclusive of any outsourced or managed arrangements (i.e. NHSP, Bank Partners, Allocate, Liaison, Patchwork, Locum’s Nest etc). If more than one supplier is used, please name all suppliers

Under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act an organisation does not require to provide information if it does not hold that information. NSS does not use a technology provider to manage the supply of bank staff.

4b. Please name the staffing group each provider is used for e.g. medical, nursing, AHPs, admin and clerical

N/A, as per response to question 4a.

4c. Please provide the contract start and end date for each bank supplier (dd/mm/yy)

N/A, as per response to question 4a.

4d. How much did the organisation pay the supplier(s) in 21/22 for the provision of the bank service?

N/A, as per response to question 4a.

I trust you will find the information of assistance and if you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Contact

Address

If after a review you are still unhappy, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS, or via their application form.

National Services Scotland (NSS) is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. You can view all FOI responses within our FOI Publications repository.