I do something similar to no dig, but I use a broadfork in the spring to simply loosen the soil a bit as I have hard clay to work with. I keep the top layers of leaves, hay and whatever else I can find on top and it seems to be working for me mostly because my climate is more dry and hot in the summer and we're not plagued with slugs or snails. Not sure if the no dig is ideal for wet, cool UK summers though. This fall I'll be applying a 6" thick mulch of shredded bark and an inch of chicken manure so they'll rot down for spring planting.
If you want more info, check out youtube videos. there are many out there under a lot of different names like no dig, lasagna, Eden garden, etc.