Political reporter

LOCAL Government Secretary Steve Reed was slammed for “ignorance-based policy” yesterday after he tried to block local councils moving to a four-day working week.

The Four Day Week Foundation called the government move “deeply disappointing” after Mr Reed’s letter to local authorities, warning they could be considered “failing” if they made the shift.

The foundation pointed out that a trial in the Scottish public sector had shown that a shorter working week improved productivity as well as staff wellbeing.

It urged councils to follow the example of South Cambridgeshire, which has been operating the shorter week since 2023, “and ignore Reed’s heavy-handed but ultimately impotent rhetoric.

“Instead of evidence-based policy, we get ignorance-based policy,” it added.

Mr Reed’s letter is believed to warn that “council staff undertaking part-time work for full-time pay without compelling justification would be considered an indicator, among a wide range of factors, of potential failure.”

He warned that local authorities should not be offering “full-time pay for part-time work.”

A Labour source said: “Voters deserve high standards and hard work from local councils, and seeing council staff working a four-day week just won’t cut it.

“They should get on with the job and make sure residents get the best service possible five days a week.”

Mr Reed previously expressed his “deep disappointment” in the South Cambridgeshire experiment.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also rejected civil servants’ demands for a four-day working week.