I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the most popular politician in Britain, Rishi Sunak, has announced a headline 3% average annual real terms increase in council funding. Ok, so it’s only 1.8% if we exclude funding for social care reforms, and less than the average rise for a Government department – but it is an increase. The bad news is that the increase is for next year but then frozen, so council tax, as usual will need to take the strain – again.

Councils are expected to be allowed to increase bills by 2.8% per year, although this will be harder for poorer areas than wealthier ones with a bigger and growing tax base. The bad news is that all this means the now familiar tale of cuts to council services looks likely again unless more cash is forthcoming.