Off the Record With political editor PAUL FRANCIS

You can generally tell when council elections are looming: the government makes some strategically timed ‘good news’ announcements that usually involve a generous bounty for one thing or another that will benefit the party vying for votes.

Take the news from Conservative communities secretary James Brokenshire that councils are to share more than £13m to “breathe new life into our green spaces for the benefit of all”.

A gushing press release states the money “will give local leaders and communities resources to better maintain, protect and increase their recreational spaces”.

Handy for councils? Not according to social media, with a number highlighting how the £13m fund when divided across the parliamentary constituencies amounted to £666 each. And then divide that by the number of parks in each constituency... and you don’t end up with very much at all.

n Kent County Council is juggling a lot of Brexit balls in the air but is determined it won’t be left out of pocket. Directorates are being told to carefully record all expenditure that might be related to withdrawing from the EU to satisfy the Whitehall bean counters.

The budget agreed recently includes a pressure of £87,500 on what are termed “additional operational costs” associated with Brexit which it is banking on the government to reimburse “pending claims from individual services”.

n Meanwhile, Kent County Council has saved - according to budget papers - £600,000 by paying off early some £60m in loans it took out as “LOBO” borrowing. The “lender option borrower option” has attracted some publicity because of the potential risks for councils of being lumbered with high interest rates.

Under the scheme, the initial interest rate is fixed but the lender has the “option” to propose or impose, on predetermined future dates, a new fixed rate. The borrower - in this case KCC - has the “option” to either accept the new rate or repay the entire loan.

The council decided to pay off the loans with the Royal Bank of Scotland - using a government loan with a better interest rate to reduce its potential exposure to higher interest rates that it would have no control over.

n Follow Paul on Twitter @Paulonpolitics for the latest political news from around the county.