Derbyshire County Council: A new finance target operating model
ArticleDerbyshire County Council transforms its finance model with Grant Thornton, enhancing financial management for informed, strategic, and sustainable decision-making.
Modern public services are essential for addressing 21st-century challenges – but how can councils continue to deliver in the current climate?
Local government is under intense and sustained pressure. Rising demand, constrained funding, workforce shortages, ageing infrastructure and increasing public scrutiny mean councils are being asked to do more with less, while fundamentally rethinking how services are designed, delivered and governed.
We work with councils across England, Wales and Scotland to tackle these challenges head-on. Our support is practical, delivery-focused and rooted in a deep understanding of how local government really works, politically, financially and operationally. We help you make confident decisions, stabilise services in the short term and build long-term organisational and financial sustainability.
How we support councils
Our work with councils typically follows a clear, repeatable framework that reflects the realities of the current local government landscape. While every organisation is different, most support falls across four connected stages:
1
Stabilise
helping leaders regain grip where pressures are acute
2
Understand
building a robust evidence base to inform difficult decisions
3
Reform
redesigning services, operating models, workforce and ways of working to close gaps and improve outcomes
4
Embed
strengthening governance, leadership capability and internal capacity so change is sustainable
This allows councils to move at pace where they must, while still laying the foundations for long‑term sustainability.
People Agenda
Join our community of professionals and get the latest insights on workforce planning, recruitment and retention, people management, and tax considerations.
CFO Solutions
Senior, hands on finance support for CFOs across the public and private sector.
The challenges we help councils address
Councils come to us when they need support with:
- Financial sustainability: Closing funding gaps, addressing structural deficits and navigating exceptional financial support
- Local government reorganisation and outdated operating models: Modernising services and structures that are no longer fit for purpose
- Rising demand and service pressures: Supporting demand-led services such as adult and children’s services, housing and place-based services shift from reactive positions to proactive interventions
- People and workforce: Supporting recruitment and retention challenges, skills gaps, equal pay pressures and wider workforce reform
- Governance, risk and decision-making: Strengthening grip, transparency and assurance in complex and fast-moving environments
- Transformation: Helping organisations move from strategy to delivery, with pace and realism
Our role is to help you prioritise, take control and deliver change that sticks.
Case studies
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3 min read
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25 Jun 2025
Suffolk County Council: Building a business case for reorganisation
ArticleSelection for devolution prioritisation meant Suffolk County Council needed a partner to help them show how they would reorganise in preparation for it.
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4 min read
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25 Jun 2025
Sheffield City Council: Restoring trust in role reviews
ArticleFind out how we reviewed the council's existing approach and built a new programme that is fairer and more consistent for everyone in the organisation.
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4 min read
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23 Jun 2025
Hillingdon Council: A future-fit finance programme
ArticleRead the story of how we reviewed the London borough's current finance systems to build a modern programme that embeds good practices across the organisation.
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3 min read
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23 Jun 2025
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