Last week I took a trip to Warwickshire to talk to local authority and health leaders about the challenges and opportunities of reform. It was my first trip to the old Shire Hall in Warwick since I was a county councillor more than three decades ago. My four years as part of a minority Labour administration there gave me an appreciation for local government which has never left me.

If I was a councillor now, I could have several reasons to resent my colleagues in health. I might view the NHS' recent budget settlement with envy – even though it hardly covers this year's pay awards and deficits and its value next year is dependent on pay reviews. I might be irritated by the tendency among some to blame NHS patient flow problems on gaps in social care and forget that such care is about more than getting folk out of hospital. I might echo the view of colleagues in the community and voluntary sector, that the NHS is not always the most generous or flexible of local partners.