You may think that those of us in local government are always complaining that we're strapped for cash.

I'm afraid that is the reality for almost all of us in the public services.

Next year, however, there is the prospect of a financial bonus when the new 200 per cent band for second homes comes into force.

This was a measure brought in by the last Government and a number of district councils in Devon have taken advantage.

But unfortunately, there are some differences of opinion about how it should be spent.

All council tax is collected by districts but the majority is spent by us at County Hall on services like schools, roads, and vulnerable children and adults.

We won't set our budget until February but we've been asked to commit all the proceeds to housing right now.

There are some difficulties with that.

One is that we won't know how much will be raised until after we have set our budget - some estimates suggest it will be £15 or £16 million.

But in Wales - where the tax is already in operation - a significant number of second home owners have simply sold up or switched the status of their property so they don't have to pay.

Now I’m very proud of our record on housing.

It’s a district council responsibility but we’ve worked closely with them on a number of initiatives.

Devon County Council was one of the first local authorities to declare a housing crisis and we were instrumental in setting up the Devon Housing Commission which produced a comprehensive report and recommendations for action earlier this year.

The Labour Government has now approved our devolution deal with housing as a key priority.

But let me be very clear.

Whilst the £15 or £16 million is very welcome, it won't go anywhere near solving our housing crisis.

So the best way to get the major investment we need is for us to work in partnership with our district councils and the national funding agency Homes England.

Homes England has access to billions of pounds for this purpose and has told us it would very much welcome a coherent plan for housing from us and the Devon district councils.

Indeed, our devolution deal has already brought new cash for housing from the Government for schemes across Devon including nearly £2 million for a project with North Devon to provide quality homes for rent in Ilfracombe.

I can’t give any guarantees this early about how money will be allocated in our budget in February.

There are too many unknowns.

We don’t know what the Chancellor will do in her budget or what support councils will be getting from the Government for next year until December at the earliest.

Devon has to look after our vulnerable children and adults and I am committed to spending more on repairing potholes - the top issue for many of our residents.

All these areas require more cash and we have to make a judgement on where we spend the money we have when we know all the facts.

My Cabinet colleague Rufus Gilbert recently met with the Labour Minister for Housing who confirmed the Government would not be telling local councils where to spend the extra second homes’ council tax because he recognised the pressures they were under and the difficult financial choices they face.

So my message is clear - let's work together across political boundaries to produce a clear strategy to tackle the housing crisis that will persuade Homes England to release the many millions of pounds that will help us make a difference.