As we battle through the dark cold days of winter, putting the finishing touches to our budgets for 2018/19 and awaiting the final settlement, I find myself wondering what spring and summer may bring in the form of yet more consultation.

Current promises are for: an ‘affordable and fair’ approach to negative RSG, the green paper covering a new approach for adult social care and various ‘technical papers’ on the fair funding review nearer to autumn. It looks to me like we have all seasons covered in 2018 and can all look forward to another busy year. That’s in addition to ensuring we keep our authorities focused on managing within very tight budgets in 2018/19 and keeping a close eye on the in-year spend pressures many of us anticipate in the form of adult’s and, increasing, children’s social care services.