Hertfordshire CC defended its use of temporary staff after the GMB trade union criticised the county for entering into a £48m four-year deal with the Guidant Group.

Cllr Derrick Ashley, Hertfordshire cabinet member for resources and performance said it could be more cost-effective to use temporary staff when there was a need for short-term specialist staff hires, or to cover vacancies during recruitment, adding the cost of in-house provision was ‘prohibitive'.