The Chancellor George Osborne will today set out the government’s spending plans over the next five years - and it could be a case of more financial pain for councils and the police in Kent.

The long-awaited autumn statement is likely to see further pressure on parts of the public sector as the government continues its austerity drive.

Councils and police forces are expected to be in the firing line as their budgets have not been ring-fenced in the same way that health, defence and International Aid have.

Kent Police crime commissioner Ann Barnes has already appealed directly to the Home Secretary to postpone cuts planned for police forces in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris.

There is likely to be better news for hospitals in England, which are expected to get a £3.8bn, above-inflation cash boost next year, amid mounting fears about the pressures they face.

And reports that there are to be changes to the way school funding is allocated could work to the benefit of Kent schools.

“Increasingly there are some big risks and unknown factors...we still need to find substantial savings each year to balance the budget on an unprecedented scale...” - KCC report

Kent County Council has already flagged up the possible ramifications of a further round of cuts.

A report to be considered next week by Kent County Council’s cabinet on the autumn statement - ahead of today’s official announcement - warns successive years of government cuts means its budget is “increasingly more challenging.”

“Increasingly there are some big risks and unknown factors...we still need to find substantial savings each year to balance the budget on an unprecedented scale,” it says.

The autumn statement is also due to reveal more details about a solution to Operation Stack after journeys across the county were blighted this summer by weeks of queueing lorries on the M20 after disruption to the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel.

It is also set to reveal the level of funding set to be invested in infrastructure for a new garden city in Ebbsfleet.

The Government has pledged to invest £200 million to help kick start development of 15,000 homes.

Follow all today’s news and reaction to the autumn statement on Twitter with our political editor Paul Francis @PaulOnPolitics and business editor Chris Price @TheChrisPrice. Also look for updates on @Kent_Online and @KentBusiness.