Nothing says the start of summer like the LGA's annual conference and this year the atmosphere was pleasingly upbeat.

Perhaps it was due to the sunny weather. Or maybe it was because everyone was reflecting on another successful year of local government delivery, despite the ongoing ratchet of financial pressure? A triumph made more piquant, as it is every summer, by the knowledge that councils need to keep on functioning and providing vital services all year round, unlike the Whitehall machine, which tends to grind to a halt as the mercury rises.