COUNCILS and emergency services in Dorset are bracing themselves for further cuts after the Government’s spending review was outlined today.

Chancellor George Osborne announced a 10 per cent budget cut for the Department for Communities and Local Government, which provides an annual grant to local authorities, and a 4.9 per cent cut to the national police budget, paid through the Home Office.

Bournemouth Council Leader John Beesley said any additional cuts to the authority’s DCLG grant would come on top of the 35 per cent cuts announced in 2010.

However, he said: “The council has worked very hard to successfully protect front-line services despite significant cuts in funding, and without increasing costs to the taxpayer.

"We have put more money into services for vulnerable children and adult social care, some £6m this year alone.

"But it will be difficult to maintain adult social care services, which with children’s services, account for 60 per cent of our net budget, if the government ask councils to be responsible for additional health related services without the funding to support them.

"Despite the possibility of further cuts, our ambitions for the town are not going to change."

He said the council was focusing on improving the local economy, partly through building new homes using private finance where possible.

Poole council leader Elaine Atkinson said the authority had anticipated the cuts in its medium-term financial plan.

“This announcement comes on top of significant budget reductions we have already made,” she said.

“The two-year council tax freeze is good news for our residents and we are pleased to see additional investment in the growth of Local Enterprise Partnerships.

”It is also positive that additional investment is being made in new homes, working with troubled families and we are encouraged by the proposed investment around the NHS and councils working together.”

However Dorset County Council's director of corporate resources Paul Kent warned county residents may face further service reduction.

“This will mean significant further cuts to Dorset County Council’s budget, on top of the £60m of savings already anticipated,” he said.

“Additional cuts of 20 per cent in 2015/16 are also being made to the Education Services Grant, which is likely to reduce the council’s funding by a further £1 million.

“Together, these additional cuts will be extremely difficult to deliver without affecting local services.

“Further details are awaited on the £3.8 billion funding which will be pooled between NHS and councils to support integrated working."

Dorset Police said they were awaiting details of how the cuts would affect them, and declined to comment when the Daily Echo went to press.

Hampshire Police Federation chairman John Apter condemned the cuts saying said: “The additional cuts to the policing budget reaffirms to many that policing is not a priority for the Coalition Government.

"Hampshire Constabulary has already slashed £55 million from its budgets which has left the frontline with no slack in the system.

“Other areas of the public sector have made the decision to stop doing things, policing does not have that luxury.”

“These latest cuts will inevitably lead to a further reduction in service which will be to the detriment of the public."

CUTS totalling £11.5 billion were unveiled in the review, which will come into effect during the financial year 2015-16.

Addressing MPs Mr Osborne said: “Britain is moving out of intensive care and moving from rescue to recovery.”

He said he was “acting on behalf of everyone who knows Britain must live within its means”.

However economic growth remains slow as does the rate of deficit reduction, although the Government claims to have slashed a quarter off the deficit since 2010.

Other measures include 10 per cent budget cuts to the Treasury and the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs, a benefits cap and ending automatic annual pay increases for millions of public sector workers.