The context for district councils changed somewhat on 22 May with the unexpected calling of a General Election. Since then, colleagues who are acting returning officers and their teams will have been working hard on organising the polls locally. I wish them a smooth process through to declaration of the result: every returning officer's dream is a clear margin of victory for the first-placed candidate!

When councils are being asked to finalise productivity plans, the sight of a Royal Mail employee delivering the writ for the election reminded me Westminster and Whitehall still have something to learn from local government about efficiency and productivity. Another Royal Mail employee will visit on 5 July to collect the writ. There was a wry smile at the irony of the instruction from the Crown Office that a scan of the completed writ should be sent back by email at the earliest opportunity.