BEagle,
You beat me to it. Given the current policy of managed decline, i.e. only spending money on infra where absolutely necessary, the current delapidated state of many buildings surely puts them at risk if we have a harsh winter - which if the press and Met men are to be believed is on the cards. Turn the heating off, freezing sets in and hey presto, save a few pounds on the gas bill and spend thousands repairing the damage. But hey, that comes out of a different budget, so it's ok
