The announcement of a fresh injection of cash for councils to prepare for Brexit just days after the leaked report on the government’s own contingency dossier may strike some as something of a coincidence.

Not that it will bother local authorities, especially some in Kent who, behind the scenes have been concerned that the impact on them of a no-deal Brexit on the county has been rather underestimated.

Council leaders are often prone to complain about a shortage of money but when it comes to Brexit, there is more of a mixed picture.

Several have yet to spend the rather more modest allocation of £17,000 the government first dispensed to town halls to meet additional Brexit costs.

It is self-evident that councils that are at a distance from the Channel ports are unlikely to have the same pressures and challenges as those nearer to the Gateway to Europe, Dover being an obvious example.

To reflect this, the government's latest round of cash grants has been devised on a sliding scale, although it is not abundantly clear - other than geographical distance - what has been factored into its calculations.

It is obvious that Sevenoaks won't have the same pressures as Folkestone; the same might be said of the two North Kent authorities of Gravesham and Dartford.

One thing you can be sure of is that hard-pressed councils will find some way to spend the money rather than return it to the government saying they do not need it.

"It is obvious that Sevenoaks won't have the same pressures as Folkestone..."

There has been some disappointment - yes, it’s true - that the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has declined to pen an ode to mark Brexit day in October.

Perhaps he is concerned that whatever he might write would be scrutinised for any evidence of bias towards the “remain” or “leave” camp.

Or maybe he felt the challenge of finding a word to rhyme with Ursula Von Der Leyen, the German defence minister who is to be the next EU Commission president, too daunting.

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