The last week in March saw the last two sessions of this year’s District Councils’ Network’s staff development programme and, as usual, it was an inspiring affair.

Seventy of districts’ brightest and best came together to form senior management teams of mythical ‘failing’ councils and to put in place plans to turn them around. The best laid plans were threatened with going awry by the often unhelpful intervention of leaders, played by five of us chief executives, and by interruptions from the media, the demands of partners and a suspected anthrax breakout.