Following the Prime Minister’s speech about reshaping the state by using tech and AI to drive improvement and efficiency in public services, a new Future Governance Forum (FGF) report on how councils use digital and data:
- Identifies a huge gap (‘missing middle’) in between central government, local government and the software market that is leading to fragmentation and duplication, often leading to 320 councils repeating the same processes or procurements, sapping vital resources and leading to wasted spending
- Proposes filling the ‘missing middle’ by bringing together councils to share common problems, develop technology, strengthen links with central government / software market and deliver cost savings by 2030. This would include a small number of regionally based ‘Centres for Service Innovation’ to generate and promote new ideas that are best suited to different areas of the country
- Recommends tackling the crippling lack of digital skills in local government by creating new ways for digital workers to progress into leadership roles by 2030.
The Impactful Devolution 02: Local Government for the Digital Era report argues that digital and data should play a much larger role in supporting public services, makes detailed recommendations for local government and was published in partnership with Public Digital and supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Robbie Bates, Policy Associate at The Future Governance Forum, said, “It’s time for a digital revolution in local government which would have a huge impact on the lives of millions of people who depend on council services.
“At the top of our recommendations is filling the ‘missing middle’ gap between central government, local government and the software market that is leading to unnecessary fragmentation, duplication and confusion. A new body is needed to fill the ‘missing middle’ by: bringing together councils to share common problems; developing technology, strengthening links with central government / software market and generating new ideas for different areas through regional ‘Centres for Service Innovation’.
“It’s vital the national tech and AI reforms announced by the Prime Minister are complemented by new measures which lead to a local government digital revolution.”
Impactful Devolution 02: Local government for the digital era is the fifth report in FGF’s Impactful Devolution series following our flagship devolution paper which set out how Labour can deliver on its devolution commitments in its first term while laying the groundwork for a more lasting shift of power over a second. This is the second report in FGF’s Impactful Devolution series following our flagship devolution paper on how Labour can deliver its devolution commitments in its first term while laying the groundwork for a more lasting shift of power over a second.
FGF is a new progressive, non-partisan think tank. Our mission is to shape a comprehensive new operating model for the way the country works.
Public Digital is a consultancy that works with large companies and government digital teams all around the world, from the USA, Canada, Nigeria, Ukraine, Australia, Argentina and Peru, to deliver strategic change at scale. It was founded by the team that created the UK’s Government Digital Service (GDS) which led the pioneering digital transformation of the state and public services in the 2010s.
