During May, the Local Government Association (LGA) welcomed the opportunity to contribute to ‘Aligning for Impact: Digital Futures in a Reshaped LGR Landscape’, an event organised and led by Jonathan Stephenson Chief Executive of Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council.
Local government is entering a period of unprecedented change, challenge and opportunity with Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) the most significant change in over a decade. The ‘Aligning for Impact’ event brought together over 40 digital leaders in local government to explore how LGR can be a catalyst for digital transformation and greater collaboration.
Insightful talks from Theo Blackwell MBE (DSIT) and Lisa Trickey (LGA) shared a national vision for a digital public sector highlighting a desire for stronger collaboration between central and local government. Lisa reflected on key learnings from recent LGA research on unitary transitions to help inform digital approaches across new councils.
The LGA’s report captured the many cyber, digital, data and technology challenges the sector faces with LGR, echoed by attendees who prioritised the need to tackle:
- Supplier market concentration.
- Inconsistent user experience for residents and businesses.
- Lack of procurement expertise and capacity in councils.
- The lack of digital skills and capabilities with the workforce and community.
- Retention and wellbeing of the workforce.
- Lack of funding.
Sessions led by Jonathan, Lorna Perry (Microsoft) and Emily Douglin (Civica) enabled rich discussion and knowledge exchange. Key themes from the day included:
- Moving beyond simply merging systems to reimagining how digital can transform service delivery.
- Driving digital leadership to shape future-ready councils and fostering a culture of learning.
- Encouraging bold thinking in the face of structural change.
- Fuelling an appetite for cross-sector collaboration and belief in the sector’s ability to shape a better digital future together.
Three ideas emerged from the event that could significantly shift the digital maturity of the sector.
1. Local government would benefit from a Government Digital Service (GDS) type organisation.
2. A technology blueprint for a new unitary council would enable councils to take a more architectural approach to application rationalisation.
3. Regional Centres of Excellence would help councils to better access and utilise hard-to-recruit skills such as enterprise architecture, technical specialists and service design.
The government’s Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government offers a pan-public sector roadmap and a coordinated framework for collaboration, presenting a crucial opportunity to empower councils to spearhead their own digital journeys. The LGA is supportive of local government’s integration into the new GDS as the new digital centre of Government to ensure council priorities are meaningfully integrated into the public sector wide approach, working closely with key departments like Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Department for Education (DfE), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and others.
This moment allows for genuine partnership across the public sector and a decisive move to dismantle outdated models and processes, ultimately delivering enhanced services for communities.
To truly strengthen and extend our digital capabilities and establish the vital digital backbone, we must elevate digital leadership across local government while clearly articulating the sector’s unique position and the specific challenges we face. We were pleased to contribute to GDS’s recent ‘sprint’ exercise which aimed to identify better ways for local and central government to collaborate on digital service development. This two-way dialogue is essential for mutual learning and joint efforts to enhance services for citizens.
Jonathan reflecting on the digital futures session said, ‘the event was marked by high energy, a strong sense of purpose and a shared commitment to using Local Government reorganisation to innovate in Local Government.’
Next Steps
This event marks the beginning of a wider programme of work to support councils navigating digital transformation in the context of LGR. The LGA and its partners will continue to convene conversations, share learning, and develop practical resources to support the sector.
This could include:
- Further similar events with CEO’s, other sector leaders, and partners to widen the voices represented at last week’s event – and to check and challenge the messages arising.
- Building on the LGR delivery network with a spin-off/s focusing on cyber, data and technology.
- Continued discussion/advocacy with central government, tech suppliers and representative bodies.
At the LGA, we remain committed to supporting the sector through collaboration, shared learning, and practical resources. Our ongoing priorities include:
- Bridging the “missing middle” by fostering a more direct and structured relationship between GDS and the Local Government sector.
- Strengthening DDaT Communities of Practice through coordinated, digitally enabled regional and national networks.
- Ongoing development of our programme of work to support the needs of councils in an LGR context.
If you would like to learn more about the event or get involved in future discussions, please contact the LGA or any of the event partners.