I don't often recommend parliamentary documents as good reads. The subject matter can be rather dry, but a recent report (Financial Distress in Local Authorities) by the Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities Select Committee is worth a read. It exposes an issue which has long troubled me, and I think has deep implications for the property development and investment sector – the state of local authority finances.

I was brought into a business life where the common-held view was that local authorities were inefficient and overweight, and for reasons of cutting taxes, or prioritising other spending, that fat should be trimmed. Fast forward 30-odd years, and when I look at local authorities now, I only see bare bone. If there is fat, it is well hidden!