The latest news is that the Welsh Assembly Government will reveal its draft budget on 24th November, at least a month later than last year. This is going to mean a very tight timetable for setting the county borough’s budget. It will be even worse if WAG actually cuts in cash terms its settlement on local authorities, though there is no justification for their so doing. Councillor Woolcock, in Social Care Scrutiny committee this morning, asked that the council protest in the strongest possible terms against central government cuts. If the Labour/Plaid coalition cuts our settlement, then I shall join him on the barricades.

While on the subject of local council cuts, mention should be made of a bright idea floated by Eric Pickles, the Conservative  secretary of state for communities and local government, in a Financial Times article in the wake of the Comprehensive Spending Review. He wants councils to sack chief executives and give their powers to directly-elected mayors. He cites such an initiative taken by several German Laender, glossing over the quite different backgrounds of public servants on the continent. Pickles’ recommendations apply only to England, but there are rumours that at least one council in Wales is considering merging top jobs.

Finally, the Treasury made one sneaky move, which did not make the headlines, but will have made the life of directors of finance more difficult. From the date of the CSR, they raised the interest rate on all new loans from the Public Works Loans Board by a whole percentage point.

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