The ability of local government to deliver decent social and economic outcomes for its citizens seems to be under threat. Money is tight: as recent analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility shows, many councils are now eating fast into their reserves and the collapse of Northamptonshire CC is unlikely to be a one-off event. Meanwhile with the demise of Carillion, questions have been raised over large-scale outsourcing. And if the cure for cash shortages was to be great big public-private partnerships then the events in Haringey, where a massive regeneration project was rejected by local people and local politicians, makes that looks less tempting too.

One area where there seems more optimism though is whether where there are contracts, they can be used to provide better, more socially useful services. Can we get beyond contracts just being given out on lowest price and instead on the basis of the social impact they might have?