The headlines in the run up to the Autumn Statement this week were not exactly rocket science. Apparently, things are still a ‘bit tough' on the financial side of things.

The focus of the statement is undoubtedly infrastructure projects and economic growth. Departmental and welfare cuts have been made in a bid to free up £5.5bn for infrastructure.
 
Extra cash for Local Economic Partnerships – in a funding pot which is up for bidding – has come out of the recommendations of Lord Heseltine's report on economic growth. But there will be no local government reorganisation.
 
Local government will not face the 1% cuts of its central government counterparts next year – but it will face a further 2% the following year.
 
Eric Pickles' DCLG was named as teacher's pet – if all department cut back at the same level there would be an extra £1bn in the pot. Even so, it will lose an extra £445m in 2014-25. What does that say for councils hitting their savings targets?
 
As the department which was the first to hold up its own – local government – as a lamb to slaughter for the first round of cuts, one would hope Eland House was also feeling the pinch.
 
As ever with the Autumn Statement, Budget and Comprehensive Spending Review, it will be a while before the true cost to councils will become apparent.
 
By-passed for local economic growth? The impact of welfare cuts on over-stretched services? Cuts pass-ported on from central government departments feeling the squeeze? There are several extra hits to come – before we even look at the finance settlement in a couple of weeks time.

What is clear for the moment is that local government will not be out of the woods anytime soon. 
 
In the recession, local government has had two major roles – to protect the vulnerable and to boost local economic growth. Under George Osborne's Autumn Statement, it looks unlikely that these are going to get easier anytime soon on the hard road ahead.