‘National politics colliding with local reality’

West Northants council’s new administration dismissed as ‘paper tigers’, as staff told working from home can continue despite national threats

By Sarah Ward

Mark Arnull’s leadership team have decided against scrapping working from home after several weeks of uncertainty for staff. LDRS image.

Staff at Reform UK managed West Northamptonshire Council have been told they can continue their working from home arrangements, following concern about national announcements.

The chief executive Anna Earnshaw has sent out an email to staff saying that following a review, the new administration, which is led by Cllr Mark Arnull, has decided to allow current arrangements to continue.

WNC chief exec Anna Earnshaw has told her staff they can continue to work from home, for now. LDRS image.

Reform UK have been in charge for eight weeks at WNC and its neighbour at North Northamptonshire Council and their election to power has caused concern among staff following announcements by national leaders about employees having to return to the office.

In the email the chief executive wrote:

“We know that the continuity of the current hybrid and working arrangements has been a key concern for many staff and members in light of the change in administration and national narrative around home working.

The new administration was keen to understand the context of the West Ways of Working (both the different worker types and office plans) and its successes and challenges to satisfy itself that our arrangements were robust and delivering for the Council and its residents.

The Cabinet therefore asked senior managers to provide an overview of the current arrangements including worker types and mixes, the office optimisation plans and savings and to provide some context around the impacts on the workforce retention, savings, and costs if we changed the arrangements and brought more staff back into the office permanently.

That review has now been completed, and the findings have been discussed in detail with the administration. Based on what they’ve seen, the Cabinet is happy for the current hybrid working arrangements to continue for now.”

But the arrangement could be pulled away if the authority thinks individuals or teams are not performing.

Earnshaw continued:

“It’s important to be clear that these arrangements depend on everyone continuing to meet expectations in terms of service and personal performance. It is important that our services and staff deliver good quality services, as its when customers don’t get a response or struggle to make contact, that they complain to us and members and questions are raised about whether remote working may be affecting performance.

So as a result of the discussions, we have agreed that there will be a strong focus on making sure that people working remotely are staying productive and that we are delivering good service levels. If someone isn’t meeting the standards expected or we are seeing service performance issues, then staff and teams may be asked to return to working in the office more or even full time.”

The authority’s headquarters is at One Angel Square in Northampton Town centre, and there is a base in Towcester. The council offices at Daventry have been closed.

The chief executive’s email contained a message from the cabinet member for HR Cllr Andrew Last, which said:

“Our approach is underpinned by the principle that flexible working must align with service delivery standards and good organisational performance. We will therefore regularly review our working practices to ensure they meet the needs of both our workforce and the communities we serve.”

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‘Paper Tigers’

Opposition leaders Jonathan Harris, Dan Lister and Sally Keeble (l-r) are critical of Reform's approach. LDRS image.

The ‘no change’ stance has been welcomed by opposition parties at the authority, with leader of the Labour group Cllr Sally Keeble saying the new administration is finding out that local government cannot have a one size fits all solution.

She said:

“This is an issue of where national policies collide with local realities.

“Obviously Reform nationally has said everyone needs to go back to work, however the reality locally is as I understand, there is not space in the offices for everyone to come back to work. And so this looks like a completely pragmatic approach.”

Cllr Keeble said the party had not clarified what the tone of the administration is, which has left a vacuum.

She said:

“There is still some uncertainty about how things will pan out in the future and I think it is really important that the Reform administration clarifies what their intentions are and sets out a manifesto of how they are going to deliver services.”

She said in her view the jury is still out on how the new leadership is performing.

Conservative group leader Cllr Dan Lister said:

“Reform UK promised to end hybrid working yet they have already made a U-turn and agreed to keep the current arrangements in place. This flip-flop shows how little control or direction they have.

“This decision reflects what many of us already knew that flexible working when managed well supports performance, retention, and value for money.

“Meanwhile, they have decided to continue delivering the One West Northamptonshire plan developed by the previous Conservative administration rather than setting out their own vision for the council’s future.

“Reform UK’s inability to deliver on a simple promise highlights their lack of clear leadership for this council.”

And Lib Dem group leader Cllr Jonathan Harris said:

“I have my new phrase, which is paper tigers. This was an example where I think they have caused too much unnecessary anxiety for staff. The reality has struck home, which is there is not the space and it will cost a fortune to do it. And we could have a really high staff attrition rate to boot.”

Cllr Mark Arnull has been approached for comment.