AT any budget meeting of any council in any area of the UK, there will be members of the public disgruntled about cutbacks in services.

In Darlington, it has been the Arts Centre and is now Crown Street Library. In County Durham, it has been the loss of the DLI Museum and closure of care homes.

Central government austerity combined with caps on council tax rises have left town halls facing tough decisions about sacrificing historic buildings or leisure and culture facilities in order to fulfil their legal duties to vulnerable children and adults.

In this region, local authorities have largely managed to keep those services going, albeit scaled down. Authorities elsewhere have not fared so well. Last night cash-strapped Northamptonshire County Council held an extraordinary meeting at which its leader explained it now may not be able to step in to protect some of the area’s most vulnerable residents.

One protester described the cutbacks as criminal, while another held a minute’s silence for all those affected by the council’s decisions.

Northamptonshire’s case is not straightforward, with serious failings identified by Government-appointed commissioners. But it does raise questions about just what happens when a council simply runs out of money.

Saying an authority should be scrapped, as the Government has, will not pay the wages of social workers or home carers. Perhaps it is time for a review of local government funding, before other, better managed authorities, find themselves in a similar position.