Whatever Brexit deal occurs next March, the recruitment crisis in care and in other parts of local government will get worse. While all the focus of extra Budget money has been on reducing bed-blocking to take pressure off the acute health sector, much of it will be swallowed up just filling job vacancies and paying higher wages for low paid social care staff.

Staff shortages in the private sector, notably retail, will put further pressure on wage rates in the care sector. As one chief executive commented at one of our recent round tables: ‘A new Lidl opened and our residential care staff just decamped there overnight.’