Local government restructure

Questions, questions. The proposed reorganisation of local government is raising many questions for management teams.

The publication of the English Devolution White Paper in December 2024 has prompted debate, discussion and, in many cases, disagreement. While many in local government are keen to accelerate consolidation in a bid to improve service consistency and reduce spend, others have concerns regarding the difficulties of meeting diverse local needs, especially in areas that span rural and urban populations. For all local government management teams, the acceleration of devolution raises many questions about the future that, given the government’s timelines, require rapid resolution.

Scott Goodwin, Divisional Director (Land, Property and Public Protection), explores the challenges ahead and highlights the vital need for insight and a strong technology foundation to support complex decisions and negotiations between councils looking to work together. 

Introduction

The underlying goal of the Government’s devolution plans is to increase the power of local decision-making through the creation of stronger regional centres with more power over housing, transport, education and employment.  There is also a drive towards consolidation and streamlining, with a push to merge areas where there are currently two tiers of local authority into single unitary authorities.  This consolidation of smaller authorities will be a key stepping stone to both streamline services through closer collaboration with neighbouring councils and create a foundation for larger mayoral regions.

This strategy builds on the existing restructuring model which has seen the creation of 62 unitary authorities during three distinct waves of reform spanning 1995-98, 2007-2009 and since 2019. Recent areas to undergo unitarisation are North Yorkshire, Somerset and Cumbria in 2023. While this plan both accelerates the process and expands the collaborative model there is also a notable change in government approach. The emphasis has now shifted from allowing authorities to make their own plans and journeys towards direct intervention in any cases where local leaders have failed to make progress. The government plans to legislate for a ministerial directive to create Strategic Authorities in areas where local collaborations have not materialised. 

This is an important distinction, putting pressure on all authorities to assess and consider their current position and the opportunities associated with both becoming a CA and, potentially, becoming part of a larger SA.

Take control

It is vital to understand the current situation and the opportunities/ challenges associated with potential change.

• What are the implications of consolidation for this council, including staff and technology? 
• What do we need to bring to the table to ensure the best outcome for both local citizens and staff? 
• Do we have the information required to understand both our current position and the potential outcome of the merger to create a unitary authority? 
• Where are the synergies with neighbouring authorities that could support the evolution to CA?
• What can we do today to strengthen our position?
• How can we bring separate councils together from a cultural and technical perspective?

Leverage experience

One of the most notable challenges is that constituent councils are inevitably at different stages of digital maturity. They will be using different systems, or different versions of the same system, and therefore have varying depths of insight into both current and future service demands. The positive news, however, is that while the changes associated with restructure are potentially new and challenging to specific councils they have been undertaken successfully by many others. As such, there are enormous opportunities to leverage best practice, knowledge and experience from both colleagues and technology partners. 

For management teams currently in the assessment phase, a trusted third-party provider such as Idox can play an important role in helping to unlock insight from existing systems. Leveraging extensive experience with recent unitary changes including North Northamptonshire and North Yorkshire, Idox can also work with councils to share experiences, highlighting opportunities to improve process efficiency while also shedding light on areas of concern such as the cultural change required to achieve collaborative working across a wider area.

Using cloud-based technologies across the new authority, for example, can remove concerns regarding IT sovereignty or fears of local bias. Consolidating diverse systems onto one platform can also provide the chance to embed standard processes throughout, helping to overcome different local cultures.

Build synergies

There are also powerful opportunities to tap into a strong pool of knowledge and experience available. At North Yorkshire, now the largest unitary in England, the rapid consolidation of systems has been key to bringing together the nine former district, borough, and county councils. Migrating to Idox’s Uniform Cloud will enable the council to move away from multiple, on-premise systems to create a single platform for planning, building control and land charges services. 

The projected outcomes of the consolidation to a single unified Uniform Cloud platform are far-reaching. The harmonisation of multiple systems into a single, integrated platform will support the council in enhancing efficiency by streamlining workflows and reducing administrative burdens. The resulting improvements in accurate, faster services to citizens and businesses will not only enhance the quality of service delivery but also reduce costs through efficiency and automation.        

In addition, the move to a fully hosted and managed solution will reduce infrastructure costs, enable the redirect of resources to vital service delivery and enable the Ccouncil to leverage the regular security features provided within a fully managed service offering to enhance security.

Data-led improvements

The consolidation of multiple, diverse legacy technologies is an important step in accelerating change and delivering improved, consistent services across the new, wider area.  For West Northamptonshire Council, which became a unitary authority in 2021, the shift from four separate systems, from multiple suppliers, to Idox Cloud as the primary solution for public protection services (including licensing, environmental health, private sector housing and trading standards), underpinned the consolidation of regulatory services operations and enhanced service delivery. 

In addition to reducing the cost and overhead associated with different technology platforms, a single cloud-based solution is the foundation for building synergies across the new unitary, to streamline operations, reduce administrative overhead and improve efficiency. Critically, with a single view of service delivery across the entire area, the council can transform its understanding of every aspect of service delivery, from trends in demand to managing resources effectively. Idox Insights delivers at-a-glance view of performance empowering confident decision-making, allowing individuals to combine reliable historic data, trends and insights to meet fast-evolving demands. 

Accurate forecasting supports better alignment with changing priorities, as well as transforming the management and allocation of resources. This visibility helps to unlock efficiencies and reduce costs. Furthermore, it delivers the strategic insight required to support consolidation and quickly identify areas for service improvement to both businesses and citizens. 

Conclusion

Restructuring local government is, of course, far from the only challenge facing authorities. The upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill will have significant ramifications not only for local planning departments but also for wider service provision, from care to schools and transport. As such, the implications of consolidation and collaboration, as well as devolution, cannot be considered in isolation. Management teams need to assess and plan not only based on the current challenges and goals but also with recognition of future economic and demographic changes within the area.

Having worked extensively both throughout local government and specifically with recently created unitary authorities, including Buckinghamshire, Somerset and West Northamptonshire, Idox has the experience to help authorities understand how this process can work and unlock the insight required to support this complex situation. 

We’re here to help. Contact your Account Manager or email [email protected] to discuss your re-organisation plans.