Councils are building up a war chest of cash in the run up to the spending review, to protect themselves from further cuts, it has been claimed. 

According to figures in the Financial Times, councils in England have built up £2.3bn extra in reserves in anticipation of the next round of spending cuts – which come on top of the existing fiscal squeeze. The rise, which was higher than expected, takes total reserves to £23.7bn, according to DCLG figures.