South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Best Value Notice has been extended for another six months by the government for ignoring guidance and continuing with their four-day week social experiment.
The Lib Dem-controlled council trialled a four-day week between January 2023 and March 2024. Even though the trial has ended, staff continue to work four days a week for five days’ pay.
The government first issued a Best Value Notice in November 2023 over concerns that residents were not getting value for money when council officers are getting an extra day off each week.
And despite receiving weekly data from the council, those fears have not gone away.
In a letter sent to the council on Wednesday 8 May 2024, the government extended the Best Value Notice for a further six months – warning that failure to give residents value for money would result in direct intervention from the government.
This is yet another suggestion that the Lib Dems are failing to properly serve the residents they were elected to represent.
Cllr Heather Williams, Leader of the Conservative Opposition at South Cambridgeshire District Council, said:
“This is yet another blow for residents. Six more months of weekly data submissions could have been avoided if the Lib Dems had seen sense and stopped the four-day week.
“As of March, the trial has ended. Yet there has been no final decision made by the full council. Despite this, officers continue to work four days a week, for five days’ pay, with 80% of councillors still without any form of a vote.
“We are now left in limbo. If the trial has stopped, the four-day week should stop. Why is the council continuing to defy government warnings? The Lib Dems are continuing the four-day week by stealth.
“The government’s letter is clear – that the Lib Dems are risking handing the keys of the council to government through sheer stubbornness. How can this really be worth it?
“I warned before to change course before it was too late. Now I fear that it is.
“The Lib Dems need to stop. They need to remember why they were elected in the first place: to serve residents.”
