South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) will outline plans for a public consultation into its 4-day week today (Thursday).
The Council’s Scrutiny and Overview Committee will discuss proposals to get feedback from residents on the controversial working pattern. Subject to final sign-off, a “full public consultation that anyone, anywhere can respond to” is being put forward.
This means even people who live outside the district can also share their views on the scheme, though their questions will be tailored slightly because they do not directly use council services. For example, a participant from Australia can take part, but is not able to give feedback on areas such as bin collections.
The planned consultation will be for eight weeks, beginning on 27 January and closing at 11:59pm on 23 March. It will be possible to have a say on how Council services have been since January 2023, when a trial of a 4-day week began.
The information gathered will help District Councillors decide on next steps.
‘Always’ going to consultation
The Council had previously postponed a public consultation expected in April 2024 because of the previous Government’s intense scrutiny of the initiative. This included warnings that SCDC may face financial penalties if the 4-day week arrangements continued.
However, the Government changed and removed any mention of such penalties in its Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26 – and this means the Council can now consult on the matter.
Cllr John Williams, SCDC’s Lead Cabinet Member for Resources, said the Council has “always made it very clear” there would be an opportunity for stakeholders to share their views on how the 4-day week has impacted them.
He said: “We have not been able to [launch a public consultation] up to this point because of threats made by the previous Government. With those threats lifted, we are now able to begin this process.
“Our approach is designed to ensure those who have used our services during the four-day week arrangements can quickly and easily share their views – though anyone, anywhere will be welcome to submit comments.”
As SCDC and Cambridge City Council share some key services – such as planning and bin collection – residents who live within the city are also being encouraged to comment on their experiences.
Justifying the 4-day week
SCDC staff deliver 100% of their work, in around 80% of their hours, for 100% pay.
Those at desks have been working 30 hours per week over the four days. Waste operatives are in 32 hours because a trial found it was not possible for them to deliver services within the 30.
The Council says the aim was to help with recruitment and retention issues it has been experiencing, rather than relying on more expensive agency staff which can be disruptive.
It believes financial savings have been made and the performance of their services have either been maintained or improved during the trial. Also, opening hours have also been maintained throughout.
Last summer, the Universities of Cambridge and Salford published an independent report on the Council’s performance during its trial of the four-day week. Of 24 key performance indicators, the analysis found 22 improved or remained the same.
The improved areas included percentage of calls to the council’s Contact Centre answered, average number of weeks to determine householder planning applications and the average number of days to process Housing Benefit and Council Tax changes.
A financial assessment of the trial outlined a known full year cost saving of £371,500. This was mainly due to permanently filling 10 posts that were previously identified as “hard to fill”.
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