Wyre Forest DC set its budget in a remote meeting for the fifth year running. Six hundred people watched live and we had several public speakers. Few people now think that commuting to face-to-face meetings is good for the environment, let alone being good for work-life balance. The Act that allowed councils the choice of how to organise their meetings has worked successfully.

The council tax revaluation took effect two years ago, and the Valuation Office Agency is about to start work on the next five-yearly review. There were howls of protest in a few districts in the South East. And who can forget the complaints from the owners of multi-million pound houses in Westminster when faced with bills that other people had been paying in most of England for many years?