Devolution and LGR: LGA support

We have pulled together a support document outlining the support available from us to aid council's in their Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) journeys.

We have launched a new LGR-specific Digital 360 offer to provide critical friend support for councils preparing for local government reorganisation. This tailored, peer-led review delivers a holistic assessment of your digital and organisational readiness.

The review covers key areas including governance, workforce, technology, cyber and data, providing a clear, actionable roadmap that helps leadership prioritise investment, build a unified strategy, and secure senior buy-in. For more information on how the LGR Digital 360 can support your council, please email us at [email protected]

The  LGA’s regional teams lead on this improvement offer and will continue to revise it based on feedback, adjusting it to be appropriate for individual councils or groups of councils.

The LGA will continue to work closely with local authorities and partners in the sector to understand and respond to emerging needs and develop support offers for the sector overall and bespoke to the needs of authorities (both individually and in regional and sub-regional groupings).  

Where there is agreement across all councils potentially affected, our offer includes:

• Facilitation of discussions between authorities to inform the development of proposals.
• ‘Top team’ workshops for senior political and managerial leaders to develop a shared vision and approach to plans for change.
• ‘Critical friend’ challenge and support, including brokering ‘buddy’ and mentoring arrangements for senior political and managerial leaders.
• Bespoke support to plan for governance arrangements in new authorities.

Our offer also includes:

• The LG Inform Plus tool, mapping demographic data to the new geographic footprint to support service and financial modelling and planning.
• HR and employment law advice (e.g. on TUPE related issues).
• Bespoke support to consider and address the financial planning and technical finance implications of LGR.
• A programme of webinars to explore key themes and lessons learned relating to LGR and devolution, for members and officers: contact  [email protected] to propose a theme.

Our universal offers are adjusted to be relevant to local context and the changing local government context, including:

• Corporate or finance peer challenges to help identify issues which should be considered and addressed in preparing for LGR in relation to leadership, governance, finance and capacity and to focus on readiness for LGR.
• Leadership Essentials programmes specifically on the subjects of devolution and LGR, and with content adjusted where appropriate to be relevant to that context.
• Action learning sets and development programmes for officers leading transformation planning and programme management.
• Transformation peers, providing support to councils on their transformation journeys, including to support reorganisation.
• Children’s Improvement Advisers with experience of LGR, providing bespoke advice and support to DCSs and Portfolio Holders.
• Support to conduct a Test of Assurance in relation to senior management structures for children’s social care.
• Adult Care and Health Improvement Advisors who can provide support to DASSs and Lead Members through LGR.
• Adults Leadership Reviews which include a Test of Assurance in relation to senior management structures in Adult Social Care.

We will continue to support local government recruitment and retention during this period of change through these programmes:

• The national recruitment campaign for local government .
• The Impact local government graduate programme – developing the future leaders of the sector, this programme can bring extra capacity to support councils.
• Recruitment and retention good practice and support .

The LGA’s Workforce team provides support to councils who are undertaking LGR. We have provide councils with a ' ten essential workforce considerations of LGR guide ' which supports chief executives, heads of HR, and transformation leads in planning and managing the workforce aspects of LGR in England. 

It provides high-level, accessible prompts and practical resources to help you navigate key workforce challenges and support positive change during a challenging transition. We are supporting councils to share workforce LGR learning and practice through our workforce events and networks. You can find out further information by contacting us at [email protected] for an initial conversation.  

The LGA is actively working together with other sector bodies to discuss and understand the support needs of the sector. We will all continue to develop our offers in response to feedback from local authorities.

The following list outlines support which is available from the following providers on a chargeable basis.

• CIPFA/F3 Consulting provide wraparound support on LGR and core resource planning through an assurance partner approach. This includes support at all stages of transition planning, including budget consolidation, workforce planning, development of governance models, property and valuation advice, supplier contract rationalisation and contract renegotiation. Practical playbooks developed from recent reorganisations support planning for service transition and redesign. For more information, visit  CIPFA’s website . 
   
• Local Partnerships provide support for the key themes of LGR activity: Strategic - activity focussed on the main features and principles that will define new councils; Sustaining BAU - operational decisions that need to be made in those councils which continue in the shorter term; Due diligence - operational details within existing councils that need to be understood for the purposes of forming new councils; Mobilising for change - practical aspects of forming new councils, informed by the above.  For more information, including details of Local Partnerships’ ownership structure which means it can be appointed directly, visit Local Partnerships’ website . 
   
• Socitm provides guidance on transition planning, improved usage and adoption of IT systems and infrastructure, and service redesign. This includes help for councils to build long-term self-sufficiency in digital, data, and technology (DDaT) through the provision of practical support, guidance, and tools — ensuring councils have the capability to manage and sustain change effectively. A benchmarking service enables councils to measure their continuous improvement and facilitates comparisons with other similar-sized organisations. For more information visit Socitm's website . 
   
• Solace supports the appointment of interim or fixed term senior managers to form part of an implementation team or to backfill business-as-usual leadership roles, facilitates workshops to help employees engage with the policy changes, offers strategic advice, honest brokers and critical friends and provides project and programme capacity and capability. Solace can also help with strategic workforce planning, organisational and leadership development, and employee well-being and out-placement. For more information, see Solace’s devolution and LGR offer and their LGR support roadmap.  
   
• ADEPT supports its members through the transition to becoming a unitary authority and/or part of a combined authority, with a focus on designing and delivering effective place services that meet the needs of communities in a cost-effective way. This includes providing a forum to share the learning of those Place Directors and their senior teams who have been through LGR and devolution recently via a programme of webinars on various service-themed subjects, by networking and by connecting individual members for more detailed conversations. As dates are arranged the webinars will be publicised on ADEPT’s website . 

The LGA’s communications improvement team has developed this toolkit to help communications and engagement officers going through LGR. The toolkit includes advice from peers who have already been through the LGR process, alongside useful case studies. If you are a comms and/or engagement professional involved in LGR, you can also join our LGR Comms & Engagement Network which you can read more about below and register your interest via an online form. If you are looking for wider comms support you can also visit our Comms Hub.

The network convenes communications and engagement officers from councils that are going through LGR. The network will provide officers with a place to work together, learn, and share templates and notable practice. The aim is to enable a space for officers to learn from one another and share experiences.

Membership is open to local government communications and engagement officers from English local authorities which are going through the LGR process.

Local authorities that have already been through reorganisation in the past will also be invited to share their experiences. We will be working closely with partner organisations Solace and LGcomms who will be invited to the meetings. Other organisations from the sector will be invited to attend and contribute in line with our agreement of confidentiality.

Get involved

If you are a communications or engagement officer and would like to join, you can register your interest on an online form . You will then be added to the membership list and invited to future meetings.

If you have any questions, please email  [email protected] .

The LGR Delivery Network is a group aimed at creating a collaborative space for council officers involved in local government reorganisation (LGR). The network will provide support, learning and development opportunities to help boost practical capability within local government to deliver LGR.