{"id":35953,"date":"2025-05-02T11:09:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T10:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=35953"},"modified":"2025-05-06T11:58:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T10:58:33","slug":"why-devolution-and-local-government-reorganisation-is-a-generational-opportunity-for-english-councils-and-digital-layer-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/why-devolution-and-local-government-reorganisation-is-a-generational-opportunity-for-english-councils-and-digital-layer-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Why devolution and Local Government reorganisation is a generational opportunity for English Councils and \u2018Digital Layer\u2019 thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

The reorganisation of local government is often seen as a logistical challenge rather than a transformative opportunity. Too often, restructuring efforts focus on administrative efficiency-consolidating multiple authorities into fewer, larger ones-without rethinking the fundamental way services are delivered. In all the chaos of \u2018merging\u2019 – strategy for adopting and instilling common patterns, interoperability and a service-oriented approach gets almost entirely ignored. \u201cStick it in and fix it later\u201d is an expensive and demotivating strategy and \u2018going to market\u2019 for the same legacy platforms – is worse still. Even worse… the foreseeable and predictable monumental waste in trying to buy tactical AI will result in massively expensive mistakes.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what if, instead of simply merging outdated operating models, we used this once-in-a-generation opportunity to embed <\/span>Digital Layer<\/span><\/i> thinking at the heart of local government?<\/span><\/p>\n

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A generational moment for digital formation<\/h3>\n

I am boring in that my strongly held view is that AI has to be adopted culturally, before it can be adopted practically and made useful in any organisation. If our teams constantly think they are implementing their way out of a job – we\u2019ll just be making more expensive and pointless projects that serve only as great press releases.<\/span><\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s latest wave of devolution and Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) presents a rare moment to modernise not just governance structures but culture – and the way public services are delivered. The risk, however, is clear: councils may fall into the trap of “just gloss painting” existing systems, leaving inefficiencies and legacy back-office technologies intact.<\/span><\/p>\n

At Jadu, we have seen what is possible when local authorities take a<\/span> Digital Layer<\/span><\/i> approach<\/span><\/a>. In West Northamptonshire, the unification of multiple legacy councils into a single authority was not just an administrative change, it was a digital and cultural transformation. By consolidating customer relationship management (CRM) systems into a single,<\/span> AI-integrated platform<\/span><\/a>, West Northamptonshire was able to improve service delivery, enhance accessibility, and lay the foundation for future AI-driven efficiencies. We\u2019re now working in their Children’s service to use AI to process Requests for a Statutory Assessment (RSA) of special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) are submitted. The aim is to make the specialist teams processing applications much more productive and reduce decision timescales.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is what devolution should be about: not just reconfiguring governance structures but rethinking the digital infrastructure that underpins local government.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Digital Layer: interoperability, accessibility, and AI<\/h3>\n

For any new or reorganised local authority, implementing a <\/span>Digital Layer<\/span><\/i> means:<\/span><\/p>\n