A senior civil servant has claimed the current economy is ‘like being at war'.

Speaking at a National Association of Local Councillors conference in Birmingham last week, DCLG director David Prout, warned: ‘We are in a new era of financial reality where expenditure is going to be tight – and if the Government is going to continue to protect health and education, it will get even tighter.' He said growing the economy was ‘absolutely essential' for the future of the country.