It has been fascinating to be involved in a number of local and national discussions over the use of the additional £1bn of social care funding for 2017-2018.

The bunfight started even before details were provided. NHS provider interests did not waste any time getting started with less-than-subtle pitching of how the money should be spent. Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS Improvement, wrote to all acute trusts with a calculation of how many beds the money could free up in each trust. He also warned of a risk that ‘the additional funding will not have the intended impact if NHS trusts do not work proactively with their social care colleagues’.