COUNCIL bosses in York and North Yorkshire face an anxious wait for funding details after the Chancellor's budget announcements, with "no let-up in austerity".

The Conservative-controlled North Yorkshire County Council has already warned its finances will suffer after George Osborne's announcements on Wednesday, and its leader has spoken of council tax increases to plug the gaps.

York's council leader Chris Steward said it was too early to know exactly how the city will be hit, but admitted there was little in the Spending Review to give councils hope of an easier time to come.

North Yorkshire leader County cllr Carl Les said: "It seems apparent from the Chancellor's statement that we face a tough settlement in the coming years."

"By the end of the decade it looks like the council will no longer receive any funding direct from Government at all."

He said council tax increases would have to be considered as budgets are stretched even further by two specific announcements yesterday - one on an apprenticeship levy that could cost the county council £1 million, and one on the slashing of the education services grant which is worth £7 million a year in North Yorkshire.

Cllr Les added: "The spending review means that in reality there will be no let-up in austerity for local authorities."

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York's Labour group leader Cllr Janet Looker said it was a "waiting game" until the finer details of council funding emerged - especially on pressing problems like funding care for older people, and on the tax credits u-turn.

She said: "We’ll be looking to get into the detail of the proposed council tax arrangements for adult social care, whilst we are still awaiting fuller news on 100 per cent retention of business rates. But with a clear indication that the Government wants to phase out revenue support grants to councils, the detail is vital and urgent.”

York council's deputy leader, Liberal Democrat Keith Aspden, said the authority would face "stark choices" under Osborne's "smoke and mirrors" announcements.

He added: “The overall settlement for local government though means that as a council we will face some stark choices over the coming years."

Analysis by the Local Government Association after Wednesday's announcements said councils could expect 24 per cent real term cuts in their funding over the five years from 2016, on top of £10 billion in "demand-led" extra costs for things like elderly care.

He said York council would strive to protect frontline services, but added: “However as the LGA report concludes, even if councils across the country stopped filling in potholes, maintaining parks, closed all children’s centres, libraries, museums, leisure centres and turned off every street light they will not have saved enough money to plug the financial black hole they face by 2020.”