Council funding has effectively been reduced over the last twenty years with increasing demand on the services provided. The majority of Authorities in England have expenditure-budget crises with some issuing Section 114 Notices.
The Government has therefore been streamlining Councils in England through Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). This began in 2009 with more mergers in 2019 to 2023. The Government is continuing to streamline Councils in England with the remaining two-tier Authorities being replaced by single tier Unitary Authorities or Strategic Authorities by April 2028.
The LGR process which is being applied to two tier Authorities (i.e. County and District Councils) is one of Submission, Decision and Vesting. Surrey Councils are the first of the remaining two-tier authorities to make a Submission and complete consultation on their final proposal and are expecting a Decision announcement very soon. They have shadow elections in May 2026 and a Vesting day of 1st of April 2027. For ‘Devolution Priority Programme’ (DPP) Authorities’ final proposals were Submitted in September and are about to go out to consultation (November 2025 – January 2026). They will await a Decision announcement in March 2026 with a Vesting day of 1st of April 2028. All remaining two-tier Authorities’ in England final proposals are to be Submitted by 28th November 2025 with consultation running January to May 2026 and a Decision announcement in July 2026 with a Vesting day of 1st April 2028.
So what work Officers should do in the interim period of uncertainty between Submission and Decision dates? The work is mainly internal but they should be setting up PMOs (Project Management Office) for the process and to establish the new authorities from the Decision date to the Vesting Date (the commencement date for the new authority). Local Partnerships have released a LGR PMO guide and toolkit. The toolkit is designed to help local authorities build a PMO to manage complex projects, especially during LGR. The toolkit provides a framework for setting up and running a PMO, including guidance on defining the PMO’s function and project categorisation.
A current critical issue for PMOs is data management. Data on internal and outsourced services and Authority assets needs to be established and then harmonised. The data needs to be standardised between the combining authorities. The first process for the collection of data is the establishment RFI (Request for Information) templates. The templates should be designed as a repository for data management and harmonization. The templates should include the tracking management of the RFI.
It is Frith Resource Management (FRM) experience that Excel spreadsheets are suitable for the collection, tracking and harmonisation of Authority service and asset data. The spreadsheets should collect and harmonize technical, financial and social data. We have expertise in preparing spreadsheets for the collection and harmonization of data for waste services; street cleansing services; grounds maintenance services; and other Public Realm services.
Once a Decision is made, the new Unitary Authority should plan to harmonize services and assets as far as practical and without causing disruption to services on vesting day, where the general principle from a public point of view, is to experience ‘business as usual’, this is especially notable for waste management collections for example.
A complexity around the harmonization of internal and external services and assets include whether environmental services be provided internally, through an Authority Teckel company, or outsourced? Internal and Teckel services are easier to harmonize than outsourced services as the new Unitary Authority have direct/indirect control over them. Outsourced services are harder and more costly to harmonize as they are subject to the Variation and Termination provisions of existing contracts. It is generally not cost effective i.e. expensive; to vary or terminate longer term contracts as these need to be negotiated with the private sector.
FRM has notable experience of contract review and cost benefit analysis of internal v external services for existing two tier Authorities (prior to and post Submission and Decision) and single Unitary Authorities (post Vesting). The cost benefit analyses assess the sustainability and harmonisation of the Authorities environment services and FRM supports these assessments using industry good practice collections models, waste flow models and carbon emission modelling.
In the Decision and Vesting of new Unitary Authorities there is the opportunity to optimise Authority owned assets with cost savings and improved services (e.g. depots, transfer stations, HWRCs). FRM also has experience of assessing and optimizing shared assets for the cost benefit of partnering Authorities.
FRM has worked with over 130 two-tier and Unitary Authorities cases for change / business case for any changes to waste services; cost benefit analysis of internal vs external services; shared infrastructure/asset reviews; and service and contracts reviews. Our team at FRM provides technical advice ranging from a critical friend role to a more hands on role. We would be pleased to support local Authorities at each/any stage of LGR (pre and post Submission, Decision and Vesting).
For more details on what we do, see www.frithrm.com, email paul@frithrm.com or cherie@frithrm.com or call 01746 552423.