Budget statements are measured as much by what they don’t mention as much as what they do.

In the case of Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement, the most glaring omission was the complete absence of any reference to the government’s plans to meet the spiralling demand for adult social care.

In Kent, that demand is the single most pressing issue for the county council, which - to be fair- makes no bones about a ticking demographic time bomb it faces and the financial straits it is in because of it.

Despite planning to use new powers to add a further 2% to council tax bills to raise additional income, that extra cash won’t do much to add capacity into the system.

Why? Largely because of the living wage which will effectively swallow up the chunk of this money.

Some £13.3m is having to be saved from the county council adult care budget this year because the government is slicing yet more money from the grants it gives to local government.

KCC has been fairly muted in its response to the Autumn statement, possibly because it thinks it is fighting a losing battle.

However,Warwickshire Conservative county council leader Izzie Secombe did not.

She responded to the Statement with this warning:

“Tragically, the human cost of this will be elderly and vulnerable people continuing to face an ever uncertain future where they might no longer receive the dignified care and support they deserve, such as help getting dressed or getting out and about, which is crucial to their independence and wellbeing.”

The spectre of bed blocking - where patients are kept in hospital because of a lack of places in care homes where they could complete their recovery - is back and we are, seemingly, re-running exactly the same arguments of a decade or more ago.

Of course, there was one part of the Chancellor’s statement that will have pleased Kent Conservative MPs.

The news that there will be a £200m fund to help existing grammar schools expand has gone down very well in the shires and is likely to see a number of Kent’s grammars working up proposals to increase their numbers.

It has to be said that the timing is odd, given that we are still in a period of consultation over the policy of permitting new grammar schools, but the government clearly felt it was worth throwing a few financial sweeties in the direction of those who want the government to commit to the idea.

Never mind that there is to be no increase anywhere else for schools or education authorities.

At a time when the education system is increasingly fragmented, Kent County Council has a careful balancing act in trying to encourage schools to co-operate in the wider interest of the community.

The natural consequence of expanding grammars beyond taking account of population growth is for other non-selective schools to lose out - and declining pupil numbers means less money and less money runs the risk of making them less viable.