0n 16 December, as we were easing ourselves into the festive season, the Government set out its intention to issue an invitation for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and seek proposals from all two-tier areas in England. The pace at which this went from a non-issue to the only issue was super fast, and understandably became the number one topic of conversation for the first few weeks of 2025.

Local government has been reorganised many times before, most recently in Somerset, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Cumbria, and North Yorkshire, so it isn't a new thing – but the recent announcement has definitely caused a higher level of interest and conversation. It's probably because of the potential size, scale and pace of change being considered and the clear call for unitarisation, with the Government letter setting out the long-term vision for simpler structures (unitary councils) and commitment to quickly facilitate reorganisation in England's two tier areas, while potentially making change happen within and beyond these ‘where there is evidence of failure, or where their size or boundaries may be hindering an ability to deliver sustainable, high quality public services'.

A few weeks on and LGR is naturally the hot topic and not surprisingly the conversations about the impact on local government leadership, workforce and talent have quickly followed.

Whatever your view on reorganisation and unitarisation, it's clear with the 16 submissions for fast track status that it's being taken very seriously and we are on the brink of experiencing the biggest reorganisation local government has seen. Personally, I find it hard to argue the logic for unitary councils of the right size and scale, and as a resident living on the boundary of a city and county, I can see the disparity in the funding regime and the impact of place and council tax on councils' ability to deliver effective public services.

What, however, cannot be ignored are the concerns, challenges and opportunities that change on this scale creates. Employees will understandably be concerned about job security, redundancy, Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations, and mergers. It's natural, but it's important that LGR is also seen as the creator of exciting opportunities, new jobs, new operating models, new ways of working, transformation, modernisation and digitalisation as councils pool their ideas and innovations. A fresh chance to reinvent local government and have a bigger impact on communities and their outcomes.

We've recently seen reluctance to commit to district council roles as futures are perceived as less assured, with some candidates waiting to see how the land lies in the next 18 months as the fast trackers create the new councils and deliver devolution. What is clear is that it's going to be a busy time for local government leaders and particularly HR and OD professionals as councils work to retain and develop their talented workforce while supporting them through change effectively.

With talent demands already outstripping supply, particularly in highly areas such as finance, legal, HR, social care, planning and housing, LGR will potentially bring demand for specialist interim and fixed-term closure and start up transformation and change support, and the sector will need to think creatively and collaboratively about how it will deliver the new councils, particularly the new leadership and management teams.

Local government minister Jim McMahon makes clear that the Government understands the challenge, saying: ‘We are under no illusion about the scale of issues facing local government. It is in all our interests to make sure we are avoiding unnecessary spend at a time when budgets are already tight, so we will be working with sector partners to avoid use of expensive consultants wherever possible.'

Fortunately, there are lessons to be learned and insights to be gained from those who have already experienced LGR. It was good to hear from Rachael Shimmin, chief executive of Buckinghamshire Council and chair of the Association of County Chief Executives, in a recent issue of The MJ about her experience in creating a new unitary, saying: ‘Councils indicating their desire to move to a unitary state will not have the amount of time those of us in previous rounds of reorganisation had to develop plans. It is critical we ensure they have support that is genuinely helpful, and we do so at pace. There is a wealth of experience and knowledge within the sector and good practice to build on. Councils do not need to start from zero.'

When asked about lessons learned from their own recent reorganisation, Duncan Sharkey, chief executive of Somerset Council, said: ‘If I could wave a magic wand, I would have preferred the talent issues and management team to have been a focus much sooner. Starting a new organisation with very few future focused leaders was challenging. I hope the system recognises the need to get the structures and policies dealt with earlier, at the pre-vesting stage ideally so that the team can hit the ground running rather than the first six months of the new council being taken up with recruitment and developing new policies.'

John Metcalfe, interim chief executive of the reorganised Cumbria CC, added: ‘In my experience, a relentless focus only on those things necessary to secure the seamless continuation of service delivery should be the primary concern of any LGR programme. Central to this is the early and continuous dialogue with staff and suppliers to agree and implement revised working arrangements from day one of the new authority. Having one eye to the emerging vision, values and opportunities for service transformation should inform this work but cannot be achieved quickly without a solid day one foundation to build from.'

Penna are fully supportive of the Government's intention to work collaboratively to deliver change cost-effectively. In the 80s a more centralised approach operated – much like a talent bureau to manage the people change and reduce redundancy and recruitment costs; in the 90s many of the recruiters agreed on standard fees to aid procurement and reduce costs. I truly hope alongside local government we can all work together to find a better way of procuring and securing external support; perhaps through pooling our considerable talents and working together for the good of the sector?

It is incumbent on the sector and its partners to create supportive processes and financial constructs to enable LGR to be delivered creatively and cost-effectively. We look forward to discussing this further in coming weeks and months, and in particular to debating this at our The MJ round table webinar ‘Talent Talks & Walks' on 28 March to explore further how can develop robust attraction, retention, and development approaches during LGR.

If you'd like to join the discussion, please contact me at julie.towers@penna.com

Julie Towers is a director at Penna