A ‘chronic' lack of funding for council services amid soaring demand means many communities face a ‘long slog' out of the COVID-19 pandemic, MPs warned today.

The Public Accounts Committee report said that, despite ‘much-heralded' Whitehall investment in specific local government programmes, the sector was still £8.4bn annually worse off than before the austerity drive of 2010-11 began – and dealing with far higher demand.