It feels as if, for understandable reasons, devolution and local government reorganisation continue to grab the headlines. It is, however, critically important for us not to lose sight of the key structural issues we face. This needs addressing if we are to ‘fix the foundations' of local government.

I am referring to the money. I've said before that, while reorganisation has the potential to generate savings, it is most certainly not a panacea for the ongoing resource-versus-demand and statutory duties conundrum.