Learnings from the LCN conference

District Councils Network is no more – welcome to the Local Councils Network!

The rebranding, unveiled with considerable fanfare in the opening address from LCN Chair Richard Wright, is more than a cosmetic change. “Local government is changing, and so are we” is the premise, and the implications are significant. Membership is now open beyond district councils, and on LGR the new LCN is clear: “We believe in the direction we’ve set, and our focus will stay the same regardless of when, or how, LGR progresses.”

Alongside signals from the LGA on evolving member support, this underscores just how much the sector support landscape is shifting as councils face some of the largest structural changes in fifty years.

Speaking to LGIU councils across the two days with Jonathan Carr-West, this article sets out reflections from the sector on the road ahead.

1. LGR decisions

A top priority was an email from MHCLG informing Devolved Priority Programme (DPP) areas that decisions will be due by next Thursday. LGIU has already published an article outlining what information we can expect to see, and our current mapping of DPP proposals has recently seen a renewed spike in readership.

But the big unknowns are the actual decisions and issues, like how debt will be treated and the depth of information on the criteria assessment. And what is quietly on everyone’s mind is the “will they, won’t they” threat of Judicial Reviews after decisions.

2. How could decisions play out?

Choices on LGR in DPP areas will reveal intent to the wider map of English local government. Broadly speaking, the decisions across the proposals rest on a mix of the following:

• A focus on growth: looking at cities and urban population models centred on economic geography.
• Population: the infamous 500,000 population target lines and supposed economies of scale.
• Political geography drawing of the new unitaries.
• A messy mix of the above may be the most likely option (and remember, we saw the map for spatial development strategies in February).

3. Bolder vision needed on devolution

Reading the Minister’s letter from February 12th, the language of the Devolution White Paper from 2024 feels like a distant past. While the Chancellor’s Mais Lecture was a welcome step forward, a key message was the need for bolder delivery and timelines on devolution.

The question of what Foundational Strategic Authority (FSA) will do (beyond transport, skills and Spatial Development Strategies) is pushing councils to advocate for further clarity on the timelines and scope of an FSA. Complicated by possible delays in the passage of the current Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and the widening maturity gap between existing and new Combined Authorities, there is a rocky road ahead for devolution.

4. Public sector reform landscape – seeing the forest from the trees.

Seeing the forest from the trees is challenging at the moment. LGR, devo, place-based budgets, neighbourhood health and the pace of reform are overwhelming. The councils cutting through are those anchoring everything to a single idea: relational public services, organised around people and based on need.

A clear message from speaking to LGIU Councils was that joining people and place services together in new councils focused on prevention is the golden opportunity of the road ahead. A barrier to this is that Government Departments behind these reform programmes are not speaking to one another.

Going forward, Helen Bailey put it to those in the room that it’s about seizing opportunities, finding coalitions of the willing, and using elected members to empower people by asking what works best.

5. Electoral tsunami

With pre-election sensitivity building rapidly ahead of May, the scale of potential political change was a live discussion throughout the conference.

Member turnover, the challenge of setting expectations for those entering shadow authorities and the implications for a rules-based system in local government all featured heavily. In some areas, political wipeouts are widely anticipated. Surrey alone faces 162 new councillors entering the system.

LGIU

6. Digital transformation

A rich session from Catherine Howe, Theo Blackwell MBE and Lucy Batley offered one of the more grounded conversations about AI and digital transformation we have heard in the sector. There was no hard sell on AI as a productivity gain. Instead, a mature discussion about what it means to genuinely think about public service through these tools.

Nearly every leader in the room indicated they are using AI in some form. The consensus was clear: the gap is not the technology. It is trust, governance and ambition. The councils moving fastest are those giving teams permission to pilot, play and learn. The risk is not building extensive policy frameworks, it is buying the wrong tools from large private sector vendors and, in doing so, losing the human connection that makes local public services what they are.

Rob Huntington of Rossendale raised a point that stuck: LGR risks becoming a moment where digital transformation defaults to back-office consolidation, leaving genuine IT and digital ambition behind.

Final thoughts

The destination for public service reform remains clearly articulated as a vision. The road to getting there is, frankly, messy. But what came through strongly at this conference is that there is no shortage of energy, ideas or willingness to do things differently across the sector.

The LCN’s relaunch is an interesting and timely step. LGIU looks forward to working closely with LCN as both organisations support councils navigating what lies ahead.

Credit to the LCN team for pulling off the new launch and a conference!