Local authorities across England have been praised for making shrewd financial decisions as spending falls for the first time since the birth of council tax.

According to statistics compiled by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), overall total service expenditure this year has fallen by 5.7% to £99.5bn compared to 2010-11, with cuts to spending hitting some areas harder than others planning (-32.1%), highways (-20.7%) and housing (-14.9%).