Budget-setting is always a particularly challenging time of the year, but this time we are in a slightly better situation after the County Councils' Network (CCN), Association of County Chief Executives and wider sector advocacy helped secure extra funding for councils.

We believe this funding should have been largely distributed to those councils under the most acute pressures, exacerbated by the Omicron wave: those who deliver adult social care. We are making this case to the Government before the final Local Government Finance Settlement.