Cllr Paul Carter’s four-year term as the high-profile chairman of the County Councils’ Network (CCN) is drawing to a close, and his replacement Cllr David Williams is waiting in the wings. It’s time for some stocktaking – and a look at how the change in leadership could impact on the direction of the organisation.

Just over a year ago, the CCN published its own green paper on social care. At its heart was a call for the Government to develop fully-costed reforms, including a cap and capital threshold to ensure no-one is faced with catastrophic care costs. On funding, the CCN rejects claims by other parts of the local government sector that the exclusion of deprivation from the Government’s proposed foundation fair funding formula would unfairly penalise councils. In May the CCN commissioned an analysis of councils’ financial sustainability up to 2025 from PwC, which concluded rising costs and demand could contribute to councils needing an extra £51.8bn of funding over the period 2019-2025. It said counties face the largest funding pressures and are most exposed to financial risk.