Rayner opens door to fourday week for council staff

The government has dropped official opposition to the introduction of a four-day working week by a local council, in a move that could pave the way for other local authorities to do the same.

- MILLIE COOKE

The previous Conservative government objected to the plan by South Cambridgeshire District Council after it was introduced in 2023. But local government secretary Angela Rayner has criticised the previous administration for “micromanaging” local authorities over the policy.

The four-day working week continued past the end of its trial period in March this year as the council awaited information from ministers. While it is not official government policy to support a four-day working week, and the government has no plans to consider such a move, ministers are no longer objecting to it.

A letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Cambridgeshire authority on Friday said councils are “rightly responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces”.

Conservative ministers had issued the authority near Cambridge with a series of Best Value Notices throughout 2023 and 2024, which contained formal concerns including that “the working arrangements chosen by the authority could impact on the delivery of its Best Value Duty” and that “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”.