Few expected the King’s Speech and Autumn Statement to be the silver bullet that solved local government’s problems.

And so, a handful of devolution deals, uplifting the housing allowance, and the promise of recouping the costs of major planning applications, while welcome, do little to change the big picture.

Inflation, racing ahead of budgets, coupled with increasing demand in social care – both adults and children’s – special educational needs, and housing are pushing council budgets beyond their limit. Increasingly, councils are facing a financial cliff edge through no fault of their own.