Andy Burns has been busy. On top of the usual day job as director of finance and resources at Staffordshire CC, he is this year's president of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

As a result, he has found himself responding to the Government consultation on the Budget on behalf of the Society of County Treasurers (SCT), the County Councils' Network (CCN), CIPFA and Staffordshire – all with a slightly different perspective: SCT is technical, CCN more political and CIPFA with a wider response on the future of public finances across the board.