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Supporting Local Government with Creating Improvements and Efficiencies

21 May 20253 min read
Guest Insights
Supporting Local Government with Creating Improvements and Efficiencies

Alex Fillingham

Account Director, Civiteq

Gavin Muncaster

Director of Digital, Southampton City Council

How can local governments identify and prioritise areas for improvement and efficiency to deliver better outcomes for residents?

To deliver better outcomes for residents, local governments would benefit from taking a structured, evidence-based approach to identifying and prioritising areas for improvement and efficiency. Southampton City Council’s transformation journey, supported by Civiteq as its business change partner, offers a compelling blueprint for how this can be done effectively, even under significant financial constrain.

In 2023, facing a £39 million funding gap and the looming threat of a Section 114 Notice, Southampton launched a comprehensive transformation programme: Adapt | Grow | Thrive. The council acknowledged that its transformation needed to be council-wide, aligned to executive leadership, and deeply integrated with financial recovery plans. Seven portfolios with 28 individual programmes ensured broad organisational coverage while maintaining local accountability.

Southampton’s programme results

The results of Southampton’s transformation programme so far speak for themselves;

  • In-year savings of £19m in 24/25

  • Reduced requirement on EFS funding from £39.3m to £20.3m

  • Confidence from early delivery of £10m transformation savings

Consequently, the council is going into 25/36 with a balanced budget and MTFS set. It has reduced its requirement on EFS, and the structural deficit has been removed by the transformation Adapt I Grow I Thrive programme.

Key programme success factors

A critical enabler of success was the use of strategic partnerships. Newton Europe supported the overall transformation strategy and Civiteq provided vital expertise in business change, as well as digital strategy, service design, and architecture. This specialist input helped the council move beyond firefighting towards sustainable, long-term change.

Civiteq’s digital maturity assessment and discovery work enabled the council to prioritise projects with the greatest operational and financial impact, like consolidating legacy systems and enhancing compliance tools.

With its 6 week piece of work, Civiteq identified over £3million of revenue generating activities.

Six key takeways for successful transformation

For other councils, the experience gained from Southampton’s work suggests a clear pathway to identifying and prioritising improvement areas:

  1. Start with discovery: Conduct maturity assessments, financial diagnostics, and service reviews. Southampton’s early digital assessments informed both strategy and delivery, ensuring transformation was aligned with real capability gaps and resident needs.

  2. Focus on data and evidence: Southampton’s roadmap, developed with Civiteq, was evidence-based and underpinned by robust governance. Local authorities should move beyond assumptions to data-driven prioritisation of investment and reform.

  3. Align digital and service reform: Digital change was a core driver of efficiency and service improvement. Councils should embed digital within their broader transformation, rather than treat as a parallel track.

  4. Empower staff and build capability: By upskilling internal teams, Southampton ensured that transformation was sustainable on an ongoing basis. A successful programme leaves behind enhanced capacity as well as outcomes.

  5. Create strong governance and accountability: With an Improvement Board, CIPFA reviews, and dedicated programme governance, Southampton maintained momentum and credibility. This allowed faster budget-setting, stronger stakeholder engagement, and delivery of £10m in transformation savings.

  6. Prioritise quick wins and long-term value: From social care demand management to property rationalisation and debt recovery, Southampton targeted both immediate efficiencies and structural improvements. Councils should look across services for high-impact areas that combine cost reduction with service quality gains.

Conclusion

Transformation is about doing things differently, it’s not about doing more with less. Southampton’s success was built on clarity of purpose, collaborative delivery, and a willingness to invest in digital and people capability. With the right partners and a disciplined approach, councils can turn financial pressure into a platform for sustained improvement.