South Cambs issued with second Government notice over four-day week

A new Best Value Notice has been issued to the authority this week by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The notice formally highlights the government’s ongoing concerns about the four-day week trial and its impact on the authority’s performance.

Leader of South Cambs District Council Cllr Bridget Smith (Image: SCDC)

The leader of the district council, Cllr Bridget Smith, said the trial has had benefits for the authority, and said they will continue to share the data and evidence of the impacts with the government.

The district council introduced the four-day week trial for desk-based staff at the start of 2023, before later expanding it to include staff working in the waste collection service.

Staff receive full pay for working fewer hours, but are expected to complete all of their work in that time.

The authority began the trial to see if it would help with the staff recruitment and retention problems it was facing.

Despite repeated backlash, the council has refused to back down to calls from government and opposition members to end the trial.

The first Best Value Notice was issued by the government to the district council in November last year.

The government later said it was also considering using "levers" in its funding settlement to "disincentive the four-day working week".

South Cambridgeshire District Council (Image: SCDC)

The district council agreed to continue running a four-day week until it received more information about what the funding impact could be.

A statement from the Government said: “The authority is not yet fully analysing the long-term impacts of the trial and future decisions on the trial remain unknown.

“The removal of up to a fifth of the capacity of the authority means that it is unlikely, in aggregate, for it to be able to support continuous improvement.

“In insisting on continuing the trial, the working arrangements chosen by the authority could impact on the delivery of its Best Value Duty.”

The government has said that it wants to see additional details on the impacts of the four-day week on individual employee activity.

The latest Best Value Notice is due to be in place for six months.

Cllr Smith said: “The data and evidence we’ve seen so far shows how the four-day week is having a positive impact on many parts of the council – and lots of the services we provide to local people.

SUGGESTED READING

• South Cambs leader says four-day week trial will end if council performance drops
• Conservatives accused of 'clutching at straws' as council defends four-day week

“For example, our ability to recruit and retain planning officers has dramatically improved. This means a smoother service for anyone who sends in a planning application as it can be dealt with by the same planner from start to finish.

“The government highlights in their letter how we have engaged constructively with their data requests so far. We will continue to do so.

Cllr Heather Williams, leader of the Conservative group at South Cambs District Council (Image: SCDC)

“Performance data we’ve collected during the trial is being analysed, and councillors will also review this data at a full council meeting in July."

The leader of the council's Conservative group, Cllr Heather Williams, said the latest notice could have been avoided if the leadership had ended the four-day week trial and questioned why the authority was "continuing to defy government warnings".