Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what is her policy on local authorities operating a four day week on full-pay, and whether she intends to re-issue Best Value guidance or interventions on the matter.

Local authorities are independent employers responsible for managing and organising their own workforces.

The 2024 Best Value guidance includes ‘Council staff undertaking part-time work for full-time pay without compelling justification’ as one indicator of potential failure but makes clear the indicators are illustrative and no single metric automatically leads to inspection or intervention. The Department is currently consulting on revised statutory Best Value guidance.