Imagine being asked to dispose of yourself. That is exactly what councils facing local government reorganisation (LGR) have been asked to do. A process that will ultimately affect thousands of staff, councillors and residents started with institutions poring over plans for their own demise. The Government is entitled to change the structures of public institutions, but it is worth acknowledging how hard that must have been for those involved.
And it does not stop there: Structural change orders, joint committees, shadow authorities, TUPE, financial integration – the hard work continues on tight timescales. All while staff, councillors and residents continue daily lives and duties amid profound uncertainty and loss.
