To repeat the oft-quoted but accurate cliché, a week is a long time in politics. It was not long ago that the media and Westminster were obsessed with the EU referendum until the murders in Paris focused everyone's attention on security and the Middle East and almost certainly led to last-minute rewrites of the Spending Review. But, like Arnie, the referendum will be back.

So far the referendum is barely on local government's agenda, not surprisingly considering the latter's focus on the Spending Review, devolution and the next financial settlement. Yet local government is directly involved in the EU referendum in three different ways. The first is through its responsibility for actually organising the poll and updating the electoral register, details of which are still being debated. For example an amendment allowing expats to vote was defeated only this week. This followed the Lords backing of votes for 16-and- 17-year-olds the previous week. So far we know when the referendum can't be held, namely local election day 2016 or 2017 and by no later than December 31 2017. But otherwise its timing is unknown though likely to be either autumn next year or in 2017, neither of which gives council electoral administrators much preparation time. Some sources even suggest the referendum could be as early as June next year.