This is my final article as Society of County Treasurers (SCT) president, and I can’t believe how quickly the year has flown by.

The year is ending in what feels like the beginning of a new normal, rather than a return to our old lives. Regular vaccinations, COVID passes, frequent lateral flow tests and a slow partial return to the office.

I recall the day as a leadership team when we made the decision for staff to work at home, given the rising number of COVID cases, just before the first lockdown. I thought it would probably be three weeks before we returned. What we know now, 20 months later, is that the pandemic will be with us for years and we need to adapt our lives to live with it.