As 34 new unitaries take shape across 14 states, councils are scrambling to hold onto experienced staff, rebuild leadership teams, and keep frontline services running. One county leader warned: “These people are like hens’ teeth.” With specialists in trading standards, social care, and highways hard to find; and harder to replace; this isn’t just bureaucracy. It’s a race to preserve institutional memory while building new systems. The government’s added £900K per unitary for transition support, but experts say it’s not enough without early planning, clear communication, and real investment in talent. Retention, not just recruitment, is the key. Because when you break up large county services into smaller units, you don’t just redraw lines; you risk breaking systems that serve real people. And no amount of funding can replace decades of experience walking out the door.