Minds were concentrated when Northamptonshire CC issued two Section 114 notices. The soon-to-be-abolished county council is now proposing a 2.99% increase in its council tax and ministers say it can use £70m of capital receipts to shore up funding gaps.

The full impact on local services is still not fully clear as the council hunts for the £42.9m revenue savings proposed for its 2019/20 budget. Other communities may be waking up to the financial perils lurking in a number of places - with East Sussex CC bravely outlining the thinking behind its plans for a 'core offer' as it seeks to avoid the fate of Northamptonshire.