‘Trust’ is a word often used by politicians and, with the current devolution debate, it is being used more than ever. Opinion polls show that taxpayers trust us in local government and we in turn put trust in national government to make the right decisions on behalf of the country.

Now is the time for Westminster to put ‘trust’ in local government to have the fiscal freedoms we need to deliver better services at lower unit cost and to make these decisions for ourselves without Whitehall’s interference. For local government to hope of continue to serve communities in the way people hope and deserve, this trust-based devolution is vital in the face of an ever tougher financial climate.

When pooled budgets – where much of the spending is out of the council’s control – are taken out, counties are looking at around a 4% reduction which makes the future extremely challenging coming on top of the 40% cut that we have already delivered. As our resources are squeezed, our ability to invest in services, particularly non-statutory services that support economic growth, is declining.