A TEMPORARY member of staff hired by Dorset County Council cost more than its chief executive, an investigation has found.

The IT worker cost more than £167,000 to hire through an agency – £20,000 more than the chief executive David Jenkins earned and almost £25,000 more than Prime Minister David Cameron.

It has been revealed the authority has been paying through the nose for staff on short term contracts when it has been making savage cuts to services and shedding jobs.

A recruitment freeze has been in place at County Hall in a bid to save money – but council chiefs have been recruiting agency staff at sky-high rates to work on what it calls ‘specialist projects’.

Savings worth £15m have been identified in the council’s budget this year as the authority tightens its belt in light of government cuts. Last year the council made £28m worth of savings.

Council Lib Dem leader Janet Dover said: “This news, which I am grateful to the Echo for highlighting, is extremely worrying and I will be taking this up with the chief executive as a matter of urgency.”

A county council spokesman said: “We had no choice but to recruit externally and pay market rates. Having specialists has meant that we have been able to deliver important projects and have ultimately saved the council, and taxpayers’, money.”