As we start a new calendar year, it's an opportunity to take stock of where local government is and what the year ahead may bring.

Following the General Election, I and many other chief executives were left with a feeling of uncertainty, whether over sustainable funding for social care, business rates retention, devolution, or structural reform. Even where some limited decisions have been arrived at – such as the ‘minded to decision' on our Future Dorset proposal – the imminent course of reform remains uncertain and the demands of the day job increase.