Insights into local engagement during local government reorganisation webinar: 3 March 2025

There were two presentations – one on the theme of external communication and stakeholder engagement, a second with a greater focus on internal communication and building a positive culture. The slides from the webinar can be found on the LGA Events webpage.

There was an opportunity for questions and discussion at the end. 

Georgia Turner shared her experience of leading communications, engagement and public affairs for local government reorganisation (LGR) in Dorset; following this, she went on to become Director of Communications at BCP Council. Reorganisation in Dorset was locally instigated, and resulted in the creation of BCP Council and Dorset Council.

Communications leadership and strategic visibility:

• The Programme Board included all chief executives from the councils in the area, as well as leads for finance, governance, communications and engagement, IT and HR.
• This ensured strategic visibility on key areas – including engagement planning and delivery.
• Sitting on the Programme Board, the communications lead was able to ensure the necessary budget requirements for good engagement and maintain oversight for a single narrative across the area around change.
• The communications lead was responsible for: quality assurance of the consultation; co-ordinating statements and media responses; chairing a communications and engagement group of officers across the council; and leading on the vision and brand of the new unitary.

Top tip:

• Ensure strategic visibility of communications and engagement.

Stakeholder mapping

• ‘Forensic’ stakeholder mapping was conducted.
• Established relationships were leveraged for early and continuous engagement.

Top tips:

• Be clear on who your key stakeholders are, and their strategic significance to the councils.
• Pay attention to operational things – what are the established communication methods with partners?  Who are the individual officers with these relationships?
• Understand the differing impact of reorganisation on stakeholders.
• Plan for how stakeholder relationships will be managed through the transition and in the new unitary.

Public consultation on ‘Reshaping Your Councils’

• The Gunning Principles guided a fair and proportional engagement process.
• The councils commissioned a research agency to carry out a public appraisal on which option of configuration would be most suitable to move forward with.
• An eight-week fieldwork period was conducted, including printed materials, surveys, interviews, roadshows, and a dedicated website.
• This included statistical sampling to ensure a representative response, and identify how groups may be affected differently.
• A 191 page report was produced, detailing public and stakeholder feedback.
• The report went through the council’s democratic cycle in two months.

Top tips:

• Be clear on what can be influenced by who, when and how.
• There is a need for clear communications of the ‘basics’ – remember the public don’t know the detail of local government structures and process, and need clarity about the options for consultation.

Submitting the evidence base for ‘Future Dorset’

• Six of nine preceding councils jointly submitted the case for change to government.
• The evidence base submitted to the Secretary of State drew on the results of the public consultation, and used quotes from key stakeholders and leaders across the area.

Creating the councils and vesting day readiness:

• The council kept residents and stakeholders informed about the outcomes of the consultation, and the upcoming process and timelines.

Top tips:

• Managing disinformation and ensuring consistent messaging is critical.
• Reassure residents, especially vulnerable residents, with a focus on service continuity.
• Provide clear information about who is accountable for what and how decisions will be made.
• Don’t underestimate the time and resources needed for branding, for example, the name change.

Becky Hutson, Head of Communications at West Northamptonshire Council (previously Communications Manager at Daventry District Council), discussed the LGR journey in Northamptonshire. The reorganisation was government-mandated due to financial and governance failings at the county council. The process involved creating two new unitary authorities and a separate children's trust.

Communication strategy

• It was felt by many that LGR had been ‘forced on’ Northamptonshire by the government.
• The communications and engagement strategy was focussed around rebuilding relationships and trust.

Top tip:

• The purpose of communications and engagement is for staff and members feeling reorganisation is being done ‘with’ them, not ‘to’ them.
• Ensure key stakeholders and the public are kept informed to maintain trust.

Programme management

• The 'Future Northants' programme was established, promoting shared ownership and a collective vision, rather than a ‘takeover’ by one council.
• The programme was managed by distributed leadership: each chief executive led a specific workstream, supported by mixed project teams made up of officers across the councils.

Top tip:

• Distributed leadership ensures collective ownership and oversight of the reorganisation programme by all councils involved.

Coordinated messages

• There was dedicated resource for communication and engagement about the reorganisation programme, supported by councils’ existing communications teams, with communications also cascading through existing council methods where possible.
• Communication was kept consistent and coordinated (including, where possible, when the programme split into the two shadow authorities).
• Regular reviews of the communications and engagement strategy ensured alignment with changing stakeholder needs approaching Day One.

Top tips:

• Think about how your teams (communications, IT, HR) can link up and engage with each other from the outset – and make the most of the relationships and links you already have.
• It’s okay not to have all the answers – but important to maintain consistent communications to avoid people ‘filling the vacuum’ themselves.

Staff engagement

• Five and a half thousand staff across eight councils were engaged through existing internal communications channels.
• Change champions were appointed to act as advocates, provide updates to staff and feedback ‘temperature checks’ to the programme leadership.
• New channels: bite-size drop ins; Future Northants information hubs on council intranets; FAQs were regularly updated to address staff concerns.

Top tip:

• Staff want reassurance from familiar people – as well as creating new communications channels, engage existing leadership teams and communications methods (e.g. team meetings) where possible.
• Graphics are useful for simplifying and clearly communicating complex and technical processes.
• Focus on the basics to address staff concerns (e.g. job security, office locations).

 Developing a new council culture

• A new vision and values were developed to bring together the different cultures and ways of working across the four councils.
• The development of the vision and values involved staff and members, as well as residents and the wider community through focus groups.
• New staff networks were created to integrate staff from different councils.

Top tip:

• Encourage staff to get proactively involved in shaping the new council, and make the most of the development opportunities.
• Use case studies from other councils who have been through the reorganisation process, and highlight the opportunities it brought for them.
• Focus on building on existing strengths, rather than ‘what’s going badly'.

 Engaging members

• Task and finish groups were set up, involving members from across the political parties to work on different workstreams (e.g. budget; senior appointments; branding and resident communications).
• Twin hatters (councillors serving on both county and district councils) played a valuable role in engagement and understanding the different perspectives.
• Members were key to engaging with the 166 parish councils across West Northamptonshire.

Top tips:

• Make the most of members’ connections across councils and in the community.

How did you manage the engagement strategies of different councils coming together?

• Make sure every council is represented – e.g set up a programme communications group that has a communications officer from every council on it. Draw on existing good working relationships across the area.
• Approach it from a collective, collaborative angle and make sure everyone is invested in deciding the new engagement strategy. 

Did you bring in external support and resources?

• Commissioning consultants e.g. a research agency to carry out public and stakeholder engagement.
• Seconding officers to the LGR programme from councils’ communications teams.
• Temporary employment of specialists for additional capacity e.g. branding.

What type of disinformation was circulated, and how did you handle it?

• There was disinformation about the bigger council ‘taking over’, and councils pushing their problems onto others.
• Be proportionate and professional when countering disinformation, and stick to the agreed lines.
• Where possible, respond with facts to counter inaccurate narratives.
• Be clear and consistent with your language – e.g. ‘creating a new council’, rather than a takeover or merger.

How did you manage press relations?

• The press are likely to look for a ‘juicier’ story (e.g. going to opposition members).
• Stick to the basics of media relations – provide factual information and consistent lines. 

Did you develop a brand to boost participation in the elections?

• Branding and clear communication about the new council's role and services helped to encourage turnout, rather than an explicit campaign to ‘go out and vote’.

How did you manage the need for service alignment?

• Aligning strategic plans and services across the new councils was a gradual process (e.g. post vesting day, there is still variation in council tax, bin collection dates etc).
• Clear communication about the benefits and expected timelines of service alignment is important.

How did you develop a positive staff culture? How and when did you set up your staff networks?

• Developing staff relationships and a new council culture early on was beneficial.
• While the networks were formally launched after Vesting Day, the ‘change champions’ were good at creating links across the councils and getting staff talking.
• Give responsibility to staff in the service areas – e.g. let them lead on the options appraisal for alignment of specific services.
• Recognise that people will want to mourn the loss of the organisation and it’s hard to let go sometimes. Engage staff and address their concerns.