The current focus of local authorities has shifted to the promise offered by devolution, but when the reality of the financial settlement hits, will authorities be able to do all of the things that they are legally required to do?

All local authorities operate within a legal framework which imposes a bewildering number of legal duties upon them. In 2011 when the Government consulted on which duties local authorities should keep, it stated that there were 1,294 duties. It was apparently the first time anyone bothered to count them and it will probably be the last.