Overview
- Communities Secretary Steve Reed wrote to council leader Bridget Smith citing declines in rent collection, re-letting times and tenant satisfaction with repairs and requested a meeting to explain how impacts will be mitigated.
- South Cambridgeshire agreed to meet officials and defended the policy, noting an academic review found 21 of 24 objective indicators were stable or improved and reporting net annual savings of about £399,000, a 41% drop in staff turnover and roughly a 120% rise in job applications.
- A council-commissioned DJS Research open consultation reported statistically significant falls in satisfaction across 9 of 13 services since the trial, though a separate representative survey showed fewer areas of decline.
- Ministers reiterated that councils should not offer full-time pay for reduced hours, yet they lack legal powers to order changes to local working patterns and are instead applying political pressure.
- More than 100 business and charity leaders urged the government to lead a national shift to shorter working weeks in an open letter, as reports suggest around two dozen other councils are considering trials.