Today marks the start of a whirlwind couple of weeks in local government, starting with the senior officers gathering for the Solace Summit in Old Trafford and ending with the Budget – with a foray over to Harrogate for the Local Government Association conference in between. 

The electoral quirk that put two of the biggest local government gatherings of the year side by side may be behind us, but the big moment of truth for the new Government – the Budget – will be done and dusted in just a fortnight's time.