The Chancellor Rishi Sunak will set out details of a one-year spending review that will indicate the cost of Covid to the economy and is likely to bring a pay freeze for millions of public sector workers.

The review will also determine how much money will be spent on schools, hospitals and other public sector services as well as the funding for local councils.

There is likely to be a backlash over any pay freeze for public sector workers as it could affect those who have been on the front line tackling the coronavirus crisis - although NHS staff are likely to be excluded.

Councils in Kent will also find out if the government is to put them under further financial strain despite a multi-million black hole facing authorities as income from council tax and businesses has plummeted during the Corona crisis.

Kent County Council says it has cash gap of between £62 million and £143m to plug next year.

Speaking ahead of the Chancellor’s statement, Gravesham Labour councillor Shane Mochrie-Cox said the spending review had to be seen in the context of 10-years of austerity:

“There has already been massive pay restraint and a huge impact on the public sector, which provides key services on a daily basis and they don't do it for a profit,” he said.

But the Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson said that public sector workers had already been protected through Covid-19 because they had continued to be paid. “If you were in the private sector, you might not have continued to get paid and we need to remember that,” he told KMTV's Paul on Politics last week.

Figures show the government has borrowed £215 billion since the start of the pandemic - compared to the £55bn set aside for 2020.

The review is different to a budget as it focuses on spending only - which means issues such as taxes are unlikely to be addressed.

It also means no rises or freezes to VAT, alcohol, cigarettes or car tax will be announced.

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