Thousands of council staff have been allowed to work from the beach since the pandemic despite six authorities declaring bankruptcy in that time. The Telegraph has more.
Council bosses approved more than 2,000 requests for staff to work from abroad in the past four years, allowing employees to sign in from holiday destinations such as Barbados, South Africa and Thailand.
Last year, councils approved 731 staff requests, a rise from 708 in 2022 and 440 in 2021, according to Freedom of Information requests obtained by the Taxpayers’ Alliance lobby group.
It comes as data from the Office for National Statistics showed that public service productivity in the second quarter of this year was 8.5% below pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2019.
Meanwhile council tax bills in England are set to rise by up to 5% in April, adding an above-inflation increase of more than £100 to average bills.
Matthew Pennycook, Communities Minister, told the Commons in November that this was the “right threshold”, as he pointed to the pressures on council budgets.
Mr. Pennycook said the Government expected an extra £1.8 billion to be raised through council tax in 2025-26.
At Labour-run Islington Council, bosses have approved 330 trips since 2020. Staff were allowed to work from numerous Caribbean islands famed for their golden sand beaches including St Lucia and Montserrat.
The Caribbean proved to be a popular destination for council staff. There were 10 approved requests to work from Jamaica including from one senior employee at Haringey who earns in excess of £77,000 a year.
Somerset County Council and Powys County Council in Wales approved multiple trips to Barbados with one member of Somerset staff working from the island for two and a half weeks.
The longest known trip was made by a member of staff at Wigan Council who was allowed to work from France for two years without having to move back to Britain.
But while its staff were working from abroad, Wigan Council increased council tax this year by 5% – the maximum it is allowed to do so – just like 95% of other councils in England.
It means the average family home has been forced to pay an extra £120 in council tax in 2025-2026.
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