The Local Government Finance Settlement contained no great surprises for districts – it merely confirmed what we were anticipating – further cuts.

While districts are not facing the levels of cuts identified for others, in local government however, we still face a significant challenge.

As we develop our different ways to cope with the challenge ahead of us what is clear to me is that districts continue to be at the forefront of developing new ways of working. We provide the foundation from which local services are delivered.

You may have already seen that the District Councils’ Network has commissioned some research through INLOGOV to look at the ways in which district councils have adopted new ways of working with their partners.