It said: "No decision was made but at the meeting the counties could not find anything to support the application."

There are also many rural young people who leave the county to find work opportunities in China's coastal regions.

The county must also find £600,000 to pay for the new bills, which will heap extra work on city and district councils.

Just how the cash-strapped county can find another $150 million in cuts is far from clear.

When the market tanked, the county found itself with lower assets and greater obligations.

The county will find room in jail for that other one.

The county tried to sell its medical center and other health services two years ago but found no buyers.

The county should quickly find the will, the imagination and the money to enact its recommendations.

"How could anyone question why the county finds itself in the economic situation it is in now?"

Since May, the county has found 61 contractors operating illegally.