It is a measure of what we were expecting that nothing in yesterday’s announcement of the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review came as a great surprise.

And in many respects, we are still in the dark about the full implications of the statement made by the Chancellor George Osborne.

As ever, the devil will be in the detail. There are, however, clearly some elements to be welcomed and others that give cause for concern in Oxfordshire.

On the plus side, it appears that schools and the health service are to be protected from the cuts. These are seen as the political priorities by the Coalition Government and few would argue with that.

With the health services being a key employer in Oxford, this can only be good news for the local economy.

A boost was also given on Tuesday when we learned that our local military bases would be spared the worst of cuts to the defence budget. No doubt, the number of military staff will decline but it appears none of our bases is under threat.

In the field of science, the Government gave a commitment to the research work at the Diamond Synchrotron and pledged to maintain its spending on research — so important to our two universities and hospitals.

The general picture for our universities is uncertain. They face a big cut in state funding over the next four years but it seems they will be expected to make up the difference by charging fees to students.

This is a step-change in the way universities are funded and will have a massive impact on two of Oxford’s biggest employers, the University and Brookes. It is likely to prove a bigger challenge to Brookes than to the more elite University of Oxford.

Our local councillors may be facing some of the biggest challenges. In the first instance, they will have to decipher the implications of the Government’s 7.1 per cent a year reduction in support over the next four years.

With schools and some elements of social care protected, we suspect that there are many council services facing much bigger cuts than 7.1 per cent a year.

Councils have been calling for years for Ministers to give them more freedom in how to spend the money they receive from Whitehall. Mr Osborne announced this year that they would get that. Given the huge cut in funds available to them, that is a poisoned chalice. The Government will take the glory in protecting schools but has left local councils to take the hit on the rest.

With state funding cut by 15 per cent a year, the arts in Oxford could suffer particularly badly over the next four years. Theatres, galleries and cultural projects may also find they lose out disproportionately when our local councils come to set their budgets.

All in all, it is bad, but it could have been worse.