Joining up public services through stronger local and central government collaboration
The Government Digital Service (GDS) has set up GDS Local to connect central and local government and help local authorities deliver better digital services. GDS Local, in partnership with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Cabinet Office, are working together to deliver joined-up and secure platforms, data and technology.
Our goal
More local authorities have switched to common digital services and flexible technologies. They can safely share data with other councils and government partners more easily to deliver better services to you.
What this means for you
This initiative predominantly applies to England currently, with active collaboration with devolved governments to align on the design and delivery of relevant services.
When central and local government services work together, you’ll benefit from:
- Faster, joined-up journeys: applying for services that cross local and central boundaries, such as accessing training and job opportunities or support for long term health conditions, will become smoother and take less time as more journeys become integrated.
- Better local service: your local council will be equipped with more modern, flexible technology. This means local services – for example, waste collection updates and planning applications – will be more reliable, easier to use online and more responsive to your needs.
- Streamlined services with easier access: instead of entering your personal data on multiple government forms, improved connection between systems will save you time and effort, as services become more personalised.
If you work in local government, you’ll find it easier to:
- Buy better technology from innovative, user-centred suppliers.
- Access central government datasets to innovate and deliver services with.
- Access trusted GOV.UK products like Notify, Pay, Forms and the GOV.UK app. This provides significant benefits, primarily in terms of cost-effectiveness, enhanced security, improved user experience and increased operational efficiency.
If you work in central government, you’ll find it easier to:
- Design better services as a result of new working practices, enhanced collaboration with local authorities and the use of high-quality shared data.
- Scale services by enabling resource pooling, eliminating duplication, creating shared knowledge and attracting larger investment and expertise. This will ultimately lead to a more efficient, resilient and adaptive public service ecosystem that can deliver better outcomes for more people, even when faced with increasing demand and limited resources.
Our progress so far
April 2025: tackled real-world planning challenges for local government
GDS hosted a 2-day Local Government Hackathon in partnership with colleagues from MHCLG Digital Planning and Open Digital Planning. This allowed us to bring teams across government together to solve real problems. As a result, local councils are building services that make it easier for you to apply for planning permission and understand decisions without needing to use confusing paper forms.
May 2025: discussed AI solutions for local service transformation
Senior digital leaders from local authorities across all UK nations and regions were brought together by GDS, MHCLG and the Local Government Association (LGA) to find ways to use AI to improve and modernise the local services people rely on every day. This collaboration is focused on overcoming shared challenges in service delivery to ensure citizens experience more effective, joined-up and better quality public services.
September 2025: MHCLG completed discovery into One Login for local government
MHCLG ran a discovery into the potential value and benefits of integrating GOV.UK One Login across local government, working with 50 local authorities and 8 suppliers. This uncovered key user needs, themes and features to inform a single government login across local services.
November 2025: established GDS Local to catalyse GDS collaboration with local government
Following a 4-month sprint run by GDS with local government, a new ‘GDS Local’ team was established. This acts as a single point of contact between local authorities and GDS, working closely with MHCLG and the Cabinet Office. Local councils will benefit from access to central government expertise and digital tools, speeding up the delivery of better online services for you.
November 2025: ran a hackathon focused on homelessness and rough sleeping
Following the success of the April hackathon, GDS and MHCLG hosted colleagues from local authorities and other parts of the public sector to design solutions to the pressing issues of homelessness and rough sleeping. This was one of an ongoing programme of hackathons, designed to solve real local issues and foster a community of innovators across local government. The digital tools will empower local councils and charities to identify people in urgent need more quickly and coordinate support more efficiently.
What we’re planning to do next
February 2026: strengthen collaboration and establish leadership structures
GDS and MHCLG will bring together digital leaders from local and central government to explore future collaboration, supported by communities of practice with the LGA focused on the technology market and GDS’s platforms. To guide and coordinate this work, a joint advisory group will be established with representatives from GDS, MHCLG and the LGA. This approach aims to ensure all government services – both national and local – are built to the same high standards, guaranteeing a consistently good user experience no matter which service you use.
March 2026: pilot initial local government services in the GOV.UK app
Young people will benefit from easier access to local career and training opportunities through a pilot of these services in the GOV.UK app. This is a first step towards creating a truly unified digital government experience that integrates local and central services seamlessly for everyone.
April 2026: develop a strategic vision for local government technology
GDS will work with local government practitioners to co-create a vision that includes the shared products and components of a local government technology stack. This will create the foundations for a new, joined-up approach to buying and building technology that aligns with the goals of A blueprint for modern digital government. This will save taxpayer money and make services quicker to launch and easier to use.
More information
For more information about this work, contact:
GDS Local Team
Government Digital Service
gdslocal-info@dsit.gov.uk