It is with slight trepidation that I quote Richard Branson. His words are strikingly true: ‘Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to keep things simple’.

I try to keep this in mind as we begin our work this week on the annual business and financial refresh, in a year before the elections.

In February, the council approved a four-year balanced budget, a ‘hurrah’ moment in any s151 calendar. So, here I am at the beginning of May and I am already seeing significant pressures coming through and basic delivery of projects and service being compromised.