South Cambs District Councillor (SCDC) Bill Handley’s Report to Over and Willingham residents – February 2025
Four-day week consultation
Until 23rd March 2025, people can share their views on the quality of SCDC’s services during its trial of a four-day week. It can be accessed here: www.scambs.gov.uk/4DW and anyone who prefers a paper copy can request one here: communications@scambs.gov.uk or call 01954 713000.
The consultation is designed to allow residents to comment on the service they received during the four-day week trial and the information gathered during the consultation will help SCDC councillors to decide on the next steps for the four-day week at the Council.
As a reminder, during the four-day week trial, staff were asked to deliver 100% of their work, in 80% of their hours, for 100% of their pay. The idea of the four-day week is to help the council to attract and retain talented colleagues, in what is an incredibly competitive local employment market. It should also help to improve services by filling vacant posts permanently, rather than relying on expensive agency staff which is both costly and disruptive.
Last summer, an independent report by two universities into the Council’s performance during the trial was published. Of 24 key performance indicators, analysis by the Universities of Cambridge and Salford found that 22 had improved or remained the same. A financial assessment of the trial was also positive, outlining a full year cost saving of £371,500. The Council’s opening hours have been maintained, and it has been open for business just as it was before the trial – with longer opening hours on Wednesdays too.
As mentioned above, the four-day week is an attempt by the administration to do what it is elected to do and manage a serious threat to services and the trial showed it is possible to do it whilst saving taxpayers’ money. Inevitably, there is political and ideological opposition to the concept of a 4-day week (or SCDC’s version of it) and these views have been expressed widely on social media without offering any kind of alternative strategy. This consultation is framed to meet the requirements of the council’s constitution and to give residents the opportunity to comment on their experience of being service consumers during the trial period. I would urge everyone to take the opportunity to comment and a comment of ‘no discernible change’ will be as valuable as positive or negative comments.
Improved Grant Funding Opportunity: Electric Vehicle chargers
The funding available from the SCDC’s Electric Vehicle charging grant has increased from £5,000 to up to £12,000 per project. This grant is open to parish councils, community groups and charities for the installation of public EV chargers in car parks associated with community buildings and village halls. Funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis and is open for the remainder of the 2024/25 financial year (i.e. until April) and the funding may not be available thereafter. More information on community EV charging can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/ubjz48pc.
More information on community EV charging points (which includes a video which shows how
Steeple Morden Parish Council installed a point on their land and detail can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/mry7cm24
The dedicated email address for this fund is here: evcp.grant@scambs.gov.uk
The application page is here: https://tinyurl.com/2uwnswf2
Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
It is becoming clear that the LGR is going to have a profound effect on local government and what a new unitary council will look like is impossible to say. The government is inviting local authorities to produce ideas and are being asked to submit initial proposals at the end of March and to submit a final business case in the autumn. Watch this space!
The year ahead…
SCDC’s Cabinet recently reviewed the council’s plans for the year ahead. A major project for the coming year will be the construction of the Northstowe Phase One Community Centre – named the “Unity Centre” by the local community. Work onsite is scheduled to begin next month and will feature a spacious multi-use hall, a playful messy room, meeting rooms, provision for a cafe and a landscaped courtyard. It is to be equipped with solar panels, a ground source heat pump and a sustainable super-insulated timber frame.
Following the successful introduction of the Council’s first public-facing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on its website during the past year – new websites are being introduced for the Council and the shared Planning and Shared Waste services. This will make it even easier for residents to access services, find information and complete tasks online. The new sites will signpost localised information for residents in one central place – including bin collection dates, important local information and community events.
A telephone Voice AI Assistant is to be introduced to complement (not replace) Contact Centre staff. This will help free-up Contact Centre staff so they can spend more time supporting residents with more complex issues over the phone.
Preparations are ongoing for the roll out of a new weekly food waste collection service to residents in 2026 – a mandatory change required by government. This will help Greater Cambridge Shared Waste service capture even more food waste and remove the need for disposal in black bins. The food waste will be transformed into renewable energy or a valuable compost product for agricultural use. The council will explain the changes in detail in the course of the next 12 months.
Contact information for our MP, Ian Sollom
Email: Ian.Sollom.MP@parliament.uk. Ian is already active across the constituency and his office staff answer emails as soon as practically possible.
Bill Handley
District Councillor for Over and Willingham
Phone: 01954 200287 (leave a message). Email: cllr.handley@scambs.gov.uk
