There is always an element of posturing in the run-up to a big financial settlement – a Budget or Spending Review – but with a new Government and the dire fiscal position many councils find themselves in, all eyes are on the Treasury. As central government battles to make its savings – with the odd PR faux pas on the way – local authorities will be totting up their own budgets and holding their breath.

If you thought you were alone in your financial woes, or that the Local Government Association was crying wolf, Unison has helpfully whipped out its calculator and come up with some figures: collective funding shortfall across the three nations of £4.3bn next year. And not all of it is down to Woking, Birmingham and Thurrock.