It will come as no surprise to learn that, as a former council chief executive, I have been following the progress of local government reorganisation with more than a passing interest. It is widely acknowledged that the structure of local government is a mess and very confusing, so the current efforts to rationalise two tier local government, and finally complete the move to unitary structures, are welcome. 

A realistic time-line of events, and decisions to be made, will be essential as a core part of this whole process, and must include realistic ‘lead-in' times