In December 2024, the government unveiled plans for a sweeping reform of council structures, aiming to decentralise governance by replacing 185 county and district councils with new unitary authorities across 21 areas. Barry Pirie of the Public Services People Managers Association (PPMA) and Anthony Lewis, Director of Tile Hill, predict that demand for the interim market will skyrocket, driven by the extensive workload required to implement Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) initiatives.
Tile Hill’s recent survey of public sector professionals, indicates significant sectoral changes over the next 12 months, with implications on workforce retention and expertise shortages. To address these challenges, many local authorities will deploy flexible resources, such as interim managers and subject matter experts, to lead transformation, and support in leading service delivery during a period of major reform.
Tile Hill held a roundtable about devolution and what it means for the interim market, featuring Barry Pirie, an interim consultant with 20 years of experience in local government across Scotland and England. His previous role included a tenure as Director of People & Business at Wiltshire Council, which was created in 2009 as a result of the first round of devolution. Anthony Lewis, Managing Director of Tile Hill, also lent his expertise, having worked with a lot of councils going through LGR to hire interim specialists.
“You often underestimate the level of resources needed,” Barry explains. “It’s a huge challenge to deliver the scale of change and do it well. It’s not about more resources necessarily, but the right resources and skills to deliver that high level of change.”
As Anthony Lewis noted, “We can emerge from LGR with a robust, resilient, and ambitious set of professionals leading the sector forward.” For interim leaders, this period of transformation presents a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact on local government and shape the future of public service delivery.
