It was revealed at a recent meeting of Norwich City Council that it spent more than £3.7m on freelance or agency workers in 2024/25.

While the Labour-run authority stressed this was a "significant reduction" from £5.8m in the previous year, Green councillors questioned whether money is being spent "wisely and transparently".

In retaliation, the Labour group suggested the Greens had been creating a "burden" and wasting "time and resources" by sending too many Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

Norwich City Council has spent millions of pounds on agency staff (Image: Newsquest) The FOI system allows people to request information held by public authorities, such as expenditures or details about decision-making processes, unless the cost of complying would exceed an appropriate limit or the information is confidential.

In an effort to prove its point, the Labour group sent its own FOI request to identify how many FOI requests and general enquiries had been sent from Green councillor email addresses in the last three years.........

© Norwich Evening News