Local government doesn't need a tech revolution — it needs a data evolution

Andy Flook, Strategic Lead for Housing and Asset Management, Infoshare+

Local government is absorbing more change at once than at any point in a generation. Reorganisation is redrawing the map, regulation is tightening and external scrutiny is rising sharply. All of it lands on teams asked to do more with less, and to know at any moment where they stand.

The compliance clock is already running

Knowing where we stand is the hard part. Awaab's Law moves into its second phase on 30 November 2026, adding excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and electrical hazards to a clock already running on damp and mould. Ten working days to investigate. Five to make safe. Alongside it sit building regulations, MEES, net zero commitments and, in Wales, WHQS. None of it was written with reorganisation in mind, and the margin for error has never been thinner.

A strategy accumulated, not chosen

Most organisations have not bought a technology strategy, they have accumulated one. A system for repairs, another for compliance, another for stock condition, each bought by a department with a budget and a job to do. That logic holds at department level. It lets departments operate unilaterally and get on with the job. Collectively though it leaves us with duplication of systems, duplication of data, and a fog over the truth. That fog is how things fall through the cracks. Multiply it by three or four predecessor authorities and ask who can say what condition an asset is in.

Why the pendulum won't swing again

The sector has been round this loop before, in generational cycles. The total system had genuine strengths in one or two areas and was a jack of all trades everywhere else, so the pendulum swung to best in class. That works well until you own a dozen excellent systems that rarely talk to each other or share a primary database.

The answer is unlikely to be another swing of the pendulum. The starting point is more prosaic: an honest review of the good, the bad and the indifferent. Many systems sit on long term contracts, so ditch and replace is not on the table. A credible strategy runs on two tracks: making the best of what we already have, in parallel with changing systems where contract and need align.

Joining up what already exists

That is why organisations are turning to integration technology, stitching systems into a Connected Universe where data flows rather than sits. If we pay for every data item we collect, there is little sense in capturing it for one purpose then leaving it stranded. An electrical report, a legionella check or a gas safety record, across commercial and domestic assets, should be captured once and made available to any department it could inform.

New requirements make it imperative to have systems that inform us, flag what needs acting upon and put real time insight in front of the right people. Compliance expects us to know what is going on every moment of the day, and we lack the human resource for it. Which is why so many are seeking an overarching view across systems, particularly around reorganisation. In transition, a believable overview across the merging organisations gives an immediate sense of where we are at and sets up whatever unification follows.

One version of the truth

The vision has to be actionable insight that is reflective of what is real. A person, a place or a compliance element can no longer be lost in the fabric of a tech stack labyrinth, and that applies as much to schools and leisure centres as to tenanted homes. Both timetables are fixed, and the technological revolution is already happening. These technologies are increasingly available. The organisations that get ahead will be the ones that treat connectivity as core infrastructure now, not as a project to revisit once the dust of reorganisation has settled.

About Infoshare+

Infoshare+ is a UK data and software company that believes local public services should be truly seamless and connected with the communities they serve. Trusted by hundreds of local government, blue light, and housing organisations, Infoshare+ delivers sustainable, cost-effective solutions that enhance decision-making, streamline operations, and improve service delivery. https://infoshareplus.com/

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