Four-day week council's Best Value Notice dropped

A "Best Value Notice" issued to a council over its four-day week trial has expired.

The notice, first issued to South Cambridgeshire District Council in November 2023 by the Conservative government, was renewed in May.

It asked the council to demonstrate it was offering value for tax payers by introducing four-day weeks where staff worked 80% of the hours they used to when they did five-day weeks, but for the same pay.

The letter confirmed the Liberal Democrat-run council was not being re-issued with the notice, with the government saying it wanted to end "micromanaging local authorities".

In the last notice in May, the letter from the Conservative government's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: "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."

However a report published in July suggested the council had managed to maintain its quality of service.

The latest letter from the newly renamed Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said ministers recognised the council's "constructive engagement" during the notice period.

They also referenced the deputy prime minister's letter to local authorities in July which said they regarded local authorities as "partners in power, with mutual respect underpinning our approach".

They added that that meant "an end to micromanaging local authorities".

The move has been welcomed by council leader Bridget Smith.

“We have spent the last year having to submit around 200 pieces of raw data to government every single week" she said.

"Disappointingly, at no point were we given any feedback on the data.

"As today’s letter clearly points out, there is now agreement that councils themselves are best placed to consider what works best for them when it comes to recruiting and retaining the best staff to deliver high-quality services."

The trial has been controversial with opposition Conservative councillors criticising the fact the full council had never voted on it.

Group leader Heather Williams also disputed the council's assertions that staff liked the four-day week.

She has claimed there was a culture of some people finishing off work for others, and described it as a "pressure cooker environment... inevitably tensions will rise between those working longer hours than others to prop up performance".

The four-day week is still technically under trial, with the council saying they could not debate making it permanent until the outcome of the Best Value Notice was known.

In a statement, the authority said it was still awaiting clarity from the government on the financial settlement for 2025-26.

Once they have that, the Liberal Democrats said they planned a consultation on the next steps for the four-day arrangement.

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