South Cambridgeshire District Council has reinforced its ‘exceptionally high’ performance standards following concerns over its four-day week trial.
The statement comes in response to a letter from Communities Secretary Steve Reed, which detailed the results of a study that is said to have revealed the trial’s negative impact on council services.
The letter written to council leader Cllr Bridget Smith said: ‘The independent report shows that performance declined in key housing-related services, including rent collection, re-letting times, and tenant satisfaction with repairs, especially where vulnerable residents may be affected.’
Mr Reed emphasised that he ‘would like to understand how the council is seeking to mitigate the impact to those services which have worsened over the course of four-day working week trial’ and requested that a meeting is arranged to enable Cllr Smith to ‘provide that assurance’.
According to a council spokesperson, Cllr Smith has confirmed that she would be happy to meet with Mr Reed to discuss the concerns.
In a statement, Cllr Smith said: ‘We are extremely disappointed to receive this letter from the Minister as we are an exceptionally high performing council.’
Cllr Smith also highlighted that the council has 'delivered an annual saving of almost £400,000, maintained and improved performance' following the trial’s introduction.
She added: ‘The independently assessed data for the trial showed that all Key Performance Indicators had either improved or remained the same, bar three relating to housing.
‘Independent analysis shows that these three isolated indicators were due to factors completely independent of the four-day working week and we are in fact in the top quartile nationally and performance is improving further.’
An MHCLG spokesperson said: ‘Local authorities are independent employers and we won’t micromanage them - but our focus must be on delivering value for money for taxpayers.’
