What does a local authority do when the going gets tough? When a third of a budget has been lost in a little more than four years, the temptation would be to hunker down and accept the ‘slings and arrows' and get on with trying to do its best to patch up the safety net. It is understandable that during times of austerity many wish to ride out the storm, but there is another way and this is the direction the Sussex councils of Adur and Worthing have adopted.

Ten years ago the councils were the first in England to merge all their staff and service offer, saving millions of pounds in the last decade. The councils have been innovators in the digital space for some time, developing an effective Government as a Platform approach. Given this background, it was decided we would face the new realities head-on, harnessing the assets we had and the opportunities we saw.