Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but there's no doubt that [communities secretary] Eric Pickles and his coalition chums remain keen as mustard to tell local government to slim down and shape up.

Some believe that beauty can be enhanced using cosmetics – applying a façade to a cracking and creaking exterior. However, this runs the risk of creating a false sense of security and trust. There are others, including officers, politicians and customers, who can see through this, and recognise the value of a good bone structure beneath the surface. We all know how we feel on the inside.