Lib Dem council ‘defies government order to scrap four-day week’
T
he first British council to introduce a four-day week has pushed forward with the scheme regardless of a Government order to “immediately” cease, based on a report.
A trial for the scheme is ongoing in South Cambridgeshire District Council regardless of native authorities minister Lee Rowley ordering officers to not proceed.
In a letter despatched to the council on June 30, seen by the Telegraph, Mr Rowley mentioned he “expected to see a return “to established norms around local government workforce capacity in the coming weeks ahead”.
It is the primary native authority within the UK to undertake such a trial, arguing that the coverage might assist fill vacant posts and “improve the health and wellbeing of colleagues”. Staff are paid full-salaries however have one further break day.
In May, the council voted to increase the trial by an additional 12 months into 2024.
Council chief Bridget Smith instructed the newspaper that she had not obtained a reply to a letter despatched to Mr Rowley requesting a gathering to defend the proposals.
A spokesperson for the council confirmed that the trial was nonetheless in place.
Anthony Browne, the MP for South Cambridgeshire, accused the council of “embarking on an ideological crusade on the four-day week”.
He instructed the newspaper: “It’s clear from the data that it’s leading to worse services and they’re ignoring the clear wishes of not just Cambridgeshire residents, who are outraged by this, but also the national government.”
Cllr Smith mentioned the council had already “seen strong independently-assessed evidence which showed that performance was maintained, and in some cases improved, in the first three months” through the trial.
The Standard has contacted the council and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for remark.
Earlier this month, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove mentioned he’s a “strong believer” that council workers ought to work a “full five-day week” after Mr Rowley contacted the council.
Taking questions after a speech on the Local Government Association (LGA) convention in Bournemouth, Mr Gove mentioned: “The key thing is that I believe very strongly, as indeed does the minister for local government, that when taxpayers are paying for services, they need to have people working a full five-day week.
“It seems to me that for every penny that is paid in council tax, we deserve, all of us, to see those working in local government working what is a full working week for those who are council taxpayers as well.”
Mr Gove mentioned councils would have other ways of managing and motivating workers however that ought to not come within the type of a truncated working week.