England's next wave of local government reorganisation (LGR) is usually narrated through deals, maps, and timelines: new unitaries, inaugural mayors and streamlined processes. Beneath that sits a more fragile question: can we feasibly integrate the digital systems that will enable new strategic authorities to function from day one and beyond?
Connected Devolution, a new report from Localis commissioned, by TecnhologyOne, takes an unglamorous but in-depth view of this. We argue that the decisive variables for LGR are not only vision, platforms, and planning, but capacity, contracts, and equity. Put plainly: Who is available to do the work? Who wins and who loses from integration choices? And whether procurement resets, or reinforces, a market that already holds too much leverage over councils. Three specific points from the report deserve wider airing.
