IT is a frank explanation and Hampshire County Council chiefs are to be commended for their transparent approach to the sheer scale of cuts that will have to be made in the county over the next few years.

As many as 1,000 extra jobs at the county council may have to go, as well as cuts to vital services as the authority seeks to lose a further £100m of its budget.

In a clear statement, the council leader, Cllr Roy Perry, explains that he cannot rule out cuts to even vital services such as support for the elderly and the most vulnerable.

When any politician makes such a statement then we can be certain the going is about to get tough and they see no real alternatives.

Alternatives there always are. In this case, the authority could wait and hope that a new government after the general election will soften the demands on its coffers.

But opposition leaders have already indicated that they accept cuts will have to continue in some form if the nation is to remove its deficit.

Or the authority could engage as far as possible with stakeholders in the community to find ways in which services can be ringfenced and the most vulnerable protected but at lower cost to the public purse.

A tall order, and a route no doubt politicians will be seeking anyway.

That the road ahead will be difficult is a certainty.