As district council treasurers wait to hear what scraps may fall from the Treasury table, I can't help feeling like Oliver Twist as he stood before Mr Bumble with his empty bowl.

We await the CSR announcement and hope all the pessimism was merely a smoke screen, and the PM will, in fact, turn out to be local government's generous Mr Brownlow. In the real world, however, district councils will be hit hardest.

We all accept funding is tight, but there are some specific issues for districts. Concessionary travel has been a major burden on all district councils. Most have reduced the scope of previous schemes and many have cut services. Districts rely on direct grants as part of their resource base which, if subsumed within the general grant system, where their distribution could be significantly different, could result in reductions in service delivery.

The funding of Local Area Agreements causes concern. As more resources are directed through this vehicle, how much influence will districts have? Districts provide critical services such as waste collection, housing and leisure, all of which are vital for improving the quality of life of residents, which need to be adequately resourced.

CSR efficiency savings will have a disproportionate impact on district councils, and the inclusion of concessionary travel payments in the quantum exacerbates this position. Many districts have been driven to outsource or enter partner arrangements to protect service levels, and are now tied in to long-term contracts leaving a much smaller resource base on which to make those efficiencies.

Do as we say, not as we do, appears to be the order of the day. Local government has led the way in delivering efficiency savings which, if replicated at the centre, would provide more funding for vital services.

So come on Mr Brown(low), let the crumbs that fall on the ‘grant floor' be really big ones. n

Chris Malyon is director of finance for New Forest DC