Jens Gemmel shares a substantial post with some really good, interesting in depth thinking around the potential for LGR to be used as a level for wider, system level change (LinkedIn warning):

When we are talking about Sussex LGR, what we are seeing on the surface is a discussion about geography, governance and structure, shaped by ministerial direction and the emerging preference for a two-unitary model. Those discussions provide direction, they create a framework for decision-making and they bring a level of clarity to what is otherwise a complex and evolving landscape.

Yet underneath that surface sits something far more consequential, because what is taking shape is not simply a reorganisation of councils, but a reconfiguration of an entire system that connects services, people, data, infrastructure and value across place. The decisions being made now will determine how that system behaves, how demand flows through it, how pressure builds or is prevented, and how effectively Sussex is able to respond to the needs of its residents over the long term.

I don’t disagree with what Jens says. I’m cautious about whether the timing is right – LGR feels like a crunch time where every spare scrap of resource is going to be spent on just keeping the wheels on the road.

Perhaps these ideas will be revisited once the dust has settled – although that would be a missed opportunity. Using a time of change to change in the right way seems an obvious thing to do – but people are going to be so stretched, I’m not sure it will be possible.