As we are in May, those of us in finance teams are turning our attention to the annual statement of accounts. Although not necessarily the most widely anticipated document, it will this year provide a record of the COVID impact on the financial health of the council.

Local government financial resilience is already under strain from years of funding reductions, coupled with increasing demands, particularly in social care. The pandemic has clearly added to these pressures as evidenced by one Section 114 notice and eight councils having received exceptional capitalisation support from the Government.