Friday 27 July. What does this date mean to you? It is the start of the 2012 Olympic Games, so it could mark the beginning of the most exciting sporting event of the century... or weeks of travel chaos – depending on your point of view.

But the 27 July should also be in the diaries of city leaders and chief executives for another reason. It is the date by which local authorities across the country must submit their plans to pool their business rates with other local authorities.