This week I will represent the CCN in a Select Committee evidence session on fiscal devolution, and last month I proudly attended the launch of the new County All Party Parliamentary Group.
From this you might conclude that counties have the ear of Westminster. Unfortunately, when it comes to getting the answers we need from Government, this is not always the case.
The Select Committee focus is on Fiscal Devolutions to Cities and City Regions. As the name suggests, the inquiry risks making a false assumption that cities are the only part of local government driving growth.
This simply isn't true. If we want a sustainable recovery right across the UK then counties need the same powers, devolved funding and opportunities to reinvest the proceeds of growth as cities.
The County All Party Parliamentary Group will be picking up this theme.
The first inquiry for the group will look at how counties can be freed to deliver more growth in their communities.
The inquiry will assess how counties can learn from the very best national and international examples in driving sustainable economic growth while identifying what steps central government should take to remove unnecessary barriers to growth.
Counties need a stronger voice in Westminster because central government has shown a lack of awareness in both the challenges we face and understanding our contribution to UK plc.
Counties generate over half the UK's Gross value added (GVA) outside of London, and correspondingly our contribution to the national exchequer is huge, yet we are excluded from national initiatives like the extension of Youth Contracts and the University Enterprise Zones.
This, we must change. The MPs and Lords who have joined the APPG have shown there is an appetite for useful discussion within all parties. Policy makers are beginning to listen.
As manifestos begin to be drafted, you can expect us to keep making the case that counties can drive growth for our communities.
Cllr David Hodge is leader of Surrey CC and chairman of the County Councils Network
