LGR offers once-in-a-generation digital opportunities, but tackling the risks is crucial

Local government reorganisation is often framed in structural terms. Which councils combine, which boundaries change, who leads the new authorities, what the constitution looks like. All important. But if you want new organisations to feel coherent to residents and staff, the conversation quickly becomes more practical – systems, data, and how the council actually runs day to day.

Digital can be a significant prize in LGR. It is one of the few areas where you can improve resident experience, reduce avoidable demand, increase workforce productivity and gain a firmer grip on cost and performance at the same time. If you have ever looked at duplicated platforms, inconsistent processes or patchy data and thought, “We would never design it like this from scratch!”, reorganisation creates a rare opportunity to change it.

However, LGR also creates ideal conditions for digital risk. Deadlines are fixed, scrutiny is high, capacity is stretched and statutory services must continue while the organisation is being rebuilt. The pragmatic response is often to keep existing systems running, extend access across the new authority and connect what you can. That is entirely sensible for vesting day. The danger lies in what follows. Without deliberate decisions, legacy platforms remain in place, interfaces multiply, reporting requires reconciliation and manual workarounds become routine. The council functions, but with more friction than it should, and the anticipated benefits become harder to evidence.

There are a few simple lessons from previous reorganisations

First, getting through day one is not the same as building a new operating model. Day one protects continuity. Value is created later, when duplication is reduced, data is standardised and services are redesigned around the new structure.

Second, data quality is foundational. When authorities merge, they inherit inconsistent datasets covering service users, property, suppliers, workforce structures and contracts. If these are not aligned early, finance reporting, workforce planning and performance management all become more complicated and less reliable.

Third, digital decisions cannot sit in isolation. System and data choices shape financial visibility, service design and savings delivery. Treating digital as a technical side-stream almost guarantees that technology reinforces existing practice rather than enabling improvement.

So how do you balance opportunity and risk?

In our work with councils that have been through reorganisation, the most valuable starting point is clarity. What do you actually spend on DDaT? How fragmented is the estate? Where does duplication sit? Which contracts constrain change? And what does the combined data landscape really look like?

From that baseline, choices and opportunities become sharper. Which systems genuinely need consolidation? Where is harmonisation sufficient? Where would redesign unlock measurable service or cost benefits? And what is realistically deliverable over the first few years?

Councils that navigate this phase well tend to focus on three areas:

• A credible DDaT cost and performance baseline
• A clear data model that exposes integration issues
• A sequenced roadmap that links system decisions to workforce implications, financial benefits and delivery capacity

This work must remain locally owned and driven. External partners can provide valuable pace, analytical depth and comparative experience, but ownership must sit locally and blended teams are essential.

If LGR is treated as an opportunity to simplify systems and improve how data is used, new authorities will have stronger foundations to design forward-facing services that can deliver tangible and measurable improvements.

How can 31ten help…

We can support authorities to take preparatory actions now, turning the digital and data challenges of reorganisation into a genuine opportunity. We can help you establish a clear and comprehensive picture of your current DDaT estate (contracts, costs, staffing, performance and infrastructure) giving you the baseline you need to make confident decisions. From there, we can work with you to explore how services could be consolidated, where cost efficiencies and improvements are realistic, and what your future DDaT landscape could look like across different unitary configurations. We can then help you build a practical, sequenced roadmap that links system and contract decisions to workforce implications, financial benefits and delivery capacity. 

We work in blended teams alongside your staff, so knowledge and ownership stay local. The result is clarity on where you are, what’s possible, and how to get there. 

Our digital lead, Paul, has hands-on experience delivering LGR digital programmes and is happy to have an initial conversation about your authority’s specific challenges and opportunities. Please contact Paul on paul.milmore@31tenconsulting.co.uk