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LGR Fortnightly Update 10th June 2026

Published
There are now 94 weeks until vesting day for the new council or councils in Gloucestershire. On April 1st, 2028, new local government arrangements will come into effect in Gloucestershire, replacing the current two-tier system. 

This edition of our fortnightly update covers: 

  • Spotlight on the Digital and Customer Experience Work Programme: joining up how people experience the new council(s) 

  • All staff and all member briefings: the dates are in your diary, now get your questions in  

  • Spotlight on Technology Work Programme: minimal disruption, support for staff and service reliability for residents 

  • The Structural Changes Order: progress in responding to the government’s request for views 

 

Submit your questions for the all-staff and all-member briefings: 

You have now been invited to LGR staff and member briefings – you should have invites in your calendars.  

As a reminder, the all-staff briefings will take place at 2pm on Monday 15 June and Tuesday 16 June.  

The all-member briefings are scheduled to take place at 6pm on Monday 15 June and Wednesday 17 June. 

They will bring you the latest updates and details as we edge towards getting a decision from government. 

Have you got a question that you would like answered at the briefing? You can either send it to the Portfolio team in advance, or ask it during the session. 

Send your questions in advance to lgrppmo@gloucestershire.gov.uk  

 

Spotlight on the Digital and Customer Experience work programme: Joining up how people experience the new council(s) 

The Digital and Customer Experience (DCX) programme is a core part of Gloucestershire’s Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) portfolio. It focuses on how customers – including residents, businesses, councillors and staff - will interact with the new council(s) from day one. 

Led by Clare Evans, with Alistair Cunningham the Portfolio Board sponsor, the programme is about making it easier for people to access services and get the help they need. Currently, the seven councils operate different websites, phone numbers and systems, which can feel fragmented and confusing. This programme brings these together to create a single, clear and consistent experience across channels. From vesting day, customers will be able to access services through clearly defined digital, telephone and in-person routes, aligned across the new organisation or organisations to make it easy to get help. 

Across all three Gloucestershire LGR proposals, digital is positioned as a core enabler of better services, improved outcomes and long-term transformation. They point clearly to councils that are ‘digital by design’.  

This programme is not intended to fully transform service delivery by day one. Instead, it will put in place the digital foundations needed to enable that transformation over time. The immediate priority is to ensure services remain stable, consistent and accessible across all channels, so people can get support when they need it. Alongside this, the programme will develop a post-vesting roadmap setting out options for how the new organisation(s) can move at pace towards user-centred, end-to-end digital service design. 

Clare Evans, Programme Lead, said: “On day one, we want people to be able to contact us easily, get to the right place first time, and feel confident that services are joined up and reliable. Avoiding confusion and unintended demand is critical, especially for teams that deal with customer contact. At the same time, we need to make sure we have a longer-term view, and make deliberate, well-informed decisions now that support the digital ambition(s) of the new organisation(s) rather than constrain it.” 

A key part of the programme is how it defines ‘digital’. It is not simply about putting services online or introducing new technology. It is about applying the culture, processes and tools of the modern internet era to respond to people’s expectations - and, crucially, designing services around user needs.  

This means improving all channels – online, phone and in-person – so they work together seamlessly. The ambition is a “no wrong front door” approach, where customers are guided to the right support without needing to understand how the council(s) is structured or repeat their story multiple times. 

The programme is structured into several projects, all focused on delivering a minimal viable product for day one. These include: understanding current demand and performance (baselining) setting strategic direction, creating the digital front door (website and online services), establishing a unified contact centre, improving in-person access, and ensuring staff have the tools, training and information needed to support customers effectively. 

 

 

Spotlight on the Technology work programme: minimal disruption, support for staff and service reliability for residents  

The need for services to continue to run safely, securely and reliably as new council(s) are established makes the Technology Work Programme a key cog in the LGR transition programme system.  

Led by Sherrill Holder, the programme is focused on delivering the technology foundations needed for day one – so that staff can work effectively and residents can continue to access services without disruption.  

Critically, this is about stability: maintaining business continuity, ensuring legal and statutory compliance, and enabling staff, systems and data to transition smoothly into a new operating model. 

In practice, this means that on vesting day, all staff will be able to log in on a working device, access the applications they need, work from council buildings or remotely, and communicate with colleagues and residents.  

Core processes like payroll and invoices will run as normal. For residents, services will continue seamlessly: contact channels will be live, contact centres operational, statutory services compliant, and benefits paid without interruption. This reflects the programme’s overarching aim – to provide a secure and resilient technology environment that minimises disruption while creating a consistent experience across the whole county. 

As Sherrill explains: “We aim to innovate the services we provide along the way and improve user experience, but some of that can come in phases after vesting day. The most important part of this transition, from a technology perspective, is stability for staff members and the people of Gloucestershire.”  

This focus on a “minimum viable” technology solution ensures that essential services are protected first, while laying the groundwork for future transformation.  

Behind the scenes, the programme is extensive in scope. It includes everything from devices and networks to systems, cyber security, data migration and infrastructure – ensuring all critical ICT services are operational on day one.  

It is also developing the future enterprise architecture and a longer-term technology strategy, so that decisions made now are flexible, scalable and ready to support transformation beyond vesting. 

Work is already well underway. The programme team is baselining the technology currently in use across all councils, identifying risks, dependencies and opportunities for alignment. Early collaboration – such as workshops with Microsoft to explore future workspace arrangements – will shape key decisions like how staff access systems and collaborate across the new organisation(s). Throughout this process, the priority remains the same: keeping disruption to a minimum, supporting staff through the transition, and ensuring residents continue to receive the services they rely on. 

 

Progress with councils sharing their views on the Structural Changes Order 

In the last newsletter, we shared that the Government had written to Gloucestershire's councils asking them to share representations on key parts of the Structural Changes Order.  

This is the legal document that will formally create any new councils and set out how the change happens. This includes things like governance arrangements, elections, council names and how the transition will be managed. 

Councils have been asked to work together and where possible provide their collective views by answering questions on those key aspects. This will help inform decisions taken by the Secretary of State. 

Over the last couple of weeks, each council has been deciding how it will consider these points through its own governance process ahead of a joint response (which will highlight where there are points of difference among councils) being sent to Government by June 16th. 

The Government will then consider these alongside the wider proposals before making decisions on reorganisation.  

A draft Structural Changes Order will be drafted by MHCLG taking account of Gloucestershire councils’ representations and shared later in the year, with further updates provided as the process moves on.