Tom Watson MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, commenting on reports from the Public Accounts Committee that spending on temporary Whitehall staff rose to £775m in 2014-15, said.

“We’ve got a government that claims to spend taxpayers’ money wisely but wastes huge amounts of cash on temporary workers, some of whom are paid a thousand pounds a day.

“The amount the government spends on short term staff is rising significantly because it isn’t recruiting civil servants with the right skills. Poor planning by the cabinet office is costing UK taxpayers dear.”