Last week's latest bout of crystal ball-gazing, this time from PwC in its annual report The State We're In, confirms what most of the local government sector has long been saying, namely that from next year it has a fight on its hands to stay in business as further spending cuts bite.

Most realistic councils are factoring in the same level of cuts as they experienced in the past four years. The trouble is the future of local government is being debated in a vacuum, or at least among the cognoscenti, while the public remains in general ignorance.