New Localis report suggests that newly created English unitary councils must prioritize digital systems integration to ensure residents receive high-quality public services. The report, entitled “Connected devolution: – digital systems for successful, holistic reorganisation,” was commissioned by global Software as a Service (SaaS) company TechnologyOne and makes a series of policy recommendations to central government, strategic combined authorities, and both existing and new local unitary councils.
The report highlights that successful transformation requires treating the integration process as a combined social and technical challenge, with a focus on standardizing processes and data across organizational boundaries rather than simply replacing IT systems or renewing contracts. The study also emphasizes the critical moment that English local government is currently facing, with well-managed integration being the key to achieving promised efficiencies and preventing the derailing of public service reform and the devolution agenda.
One of the key recommendations from the report is for local digital leaders to have a seat at the top table for council decision-making to deliver the dividends of local government reorganisation. Failure to do so could result in the derailing of the agenda for devolution and public service reform.
The report also highlights the need for sub-optimal digital readiness at the local level to be addressed, as well as the importance of organizational capacity. It recommends that only approximately two percent of local authority headcount should be in digital/data-adjacent roles to avoid frustrating systems integration. To overcome this constraint, the report suggests ring-fenced skills funding and professionalization against frameworks like the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework.
Another key finding from the report is the importance of governance and leadership in LGR outcomes. It emphasizes the need for leaders to align political and executive sponsors behind an interface-first vision and adopt a ‘rails-first, interface-led’ strategy to guide convergence. Effective governance must also embed cyber and data ethics from the outset.
The report also highlights the potential of data integration for prevention, stating that integrated services become deliverable when data from multiple independent organizations is consolidated into a single, jointly governed analytics “spine.” This is necessary to enable truly preventative services and complex cross-agency care planning.
In terms of commercial strategy and risk mitigation, the report stresses the importance of new strategic authorities leveraging their aggregated demand to overcome legacy supplier lock-in and fragmented purchasing. It recommends that commercial strategy must actively reduce legacy risk by mandating exit plans, ensuring data portability in open formats, and requiring open, documented API access without prohibitive fees.
Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis, stated that “LGR and the wider push towards a new map of devolution represents a critical moment.” He added that “if digital systems integration is approached correctly, with realistic multi-year timelines, empowered digital leadership, and disciplined commercial strategy, new local and strategic authorities can solidify their resilience and achieve the promised efficiencies.”
Emma Foy, Local Government Lead at TechnologyOne, shared that “this report underlines what we see every day working with councils across the country: digital foundations determine the success or failure of reorganization.” She added that “the authorities that standardize on modern, interoperable cloud platforms, rather than trying to stitch together legacy systems, are the ones best placed to deliver real savings, resilience, and better services.”
The report concludes with a series of recommendations for central government, strategic authorities, and councils, including the need for government to embed ‘rails-first’, interface-led governance requirements for LGR into its guidance and appraisal of options. It also recommends that councils treat procurement as portfolio stewardship and embed ethical transparency and resident legitimacy into program governance. The report can be downloaded in advance from the Localis website.
About Localis
Localis is an independent think-tank dedicated to issues related to politics, public service reform, and localism. They carry out innovative research, hold events, and facilitate a growing network of members to stimulate and challenge the current orthodoxy of the governance of the UK.
About TechnologyOne
TechnologyOne is a global Software as a Service (SaaS) company with offices across six countries. Their enterprise SaaS solution is used by over 1,200 leading corporations, government departments, and statutory authorities. They provide deep functionality for markets such as local government and higher education in the UK.
The report concludes with a series of recommendations for central government, strategic authorities, and councils, including the need for government to embed ‘rails-first’, interface-led governance requirements for LGR into its guidance and appraisal of options. It also recommends that councils treat procurement as portfolio stewardship and embed ethical transparency and resident legitimacy into program governance. The report can be downloaded in advance from the Localis website.