Councils and commercialism. They're not two words that many peoplewould put together but at Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) being more business-like is key to our future.

We're adopting more commercial practicesto tackle constantly growing budget pressures.  In the last four years, we've filled a £7.5 million funding gap through both income generation and savings but there's still a way to go – we need to find the same amount again by 2018/19, from a current budget of £17 million. With drastic cuts to the government grant, like all local authorities, we're left with less and less money to provide services.