Lessons from the recent Institute for Government (IFG) and Norse Group panel on district council mergers, devolution, and the reality of local transformation
"Launching LGR is easy. Merging district functions, decoupling county council services, and transforming the whole thing? That’s when the hard work begins.”
That quote, from one of the senior officers interviewed in a panel discussion to launch the IFG’s new report Reorganising District Councils And Local Public Services, captures the mood of those facing the largest wave of local government reorganisation (LGR) in England for over 25 years.
The numbers alone are huge: nearly 40% of England’s population could be affected by the upcoming round of mergers, as government pushes for fewer, clearer, more efficient local authorities. But if Vesting Day (the official launch of a new council) is the hard deadline everyone’s working towards, it’s what comes after that really matters, and takes years to get right.
🧩 Why LGR is not just a merger
Speakers from North Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, alongside IFG experts and delivery partners like Norse Group, laid out the real-life challenges. These include:
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Harmonising services like waste and housing across completely different policies, systems and budgets
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Managing culture clashes, legacy loyalties and conflicting political visions
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Keeping front-line delivery running smoothly while restructuring the back-office from scratch
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Supporting thousands of staff facing uncertainty, restructures and job interviews, often while still doing their day jobs
🎯 “Start early, tidy your sock drawer”
The advice from those who have been through it is consistent: do your prep. That means getting contract registers, HR data, IT systems and asset lists in order as early as possible. But it also means preparing staff and councillors for a change that is as emotional as it is technical.
Liz from Leicestershire summed it up bluntly: “Be kind. This is hard. Order wine monthly.”
🧠 Devolution is the prize - but only with vision
The deeper thread running through the discussion was devolution. LGR isn’t just about savings (though North Yorkshire has made £60m already). It’s about reshaping local state capacity so that councils can take on more powers; in health, skills, economic development and more.
But that only works if there’s a clear vision. Not just of “safe and legal” structures, but of the kind of places we want to build over the next 20 years. Councillors need to be inspired, not just managed. And residents need to feel empowered, not just consulted.
⚖️ What this means for Sussex
The implications are clear for the Sussex devolution process:
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Don’t underestimate the back-office. It’s the engine for transformation.
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Prioritise capacity. There will need to beHR, legal, finance and IT functions to scale rapidly.
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Make space for imagination. “If you embed before you transform, you’ll have to transform twice.”
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Double devolution, youth voice, area committees; these tools only work if they’re embedded from day one, not bolted on after.
And a final provocation from the panellists: “Don’t let boundaries of the past shape the services of the future. Design for the geography you want, not the one you’ve inherited.”
🧠 Read the full IFG report
📄 Reorganising District Councils and Local Public Services: Challenges and Options
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