Oxford City Council facing 'tough choices' over budget cuts

An authority has announced it needs to save 20% of its £27m annual budget because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

Oxford City Council said "tough choices" would have to be made to cut £5.5m annually by the 2026/27 financial year.

It said it would prioritise protecting services that support the most vulnerable.

The government said it was "ready to speak" about any concerns.

In a letter to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, deputy leader of the council Ed Turner said it had "bent over backwards to work more efficiently" but faced "new ongoing pressures".

He wrote that the combination of "fallout from the pandemic, rising energy costs, and other inflation-related pressures" represented a "huge threat to local authorities whose funding has already been sharply cut".

He added: "The 'low hanging fruit' has long been picked, and we cannot make further reductions in spending without adversely affecting local people."

The council said bin collections and street cleaning would be among the services protected.

It said over the last decade it had seen a £7m reduction in funding because of austerity measures, including no direct grant funding from the government for its core activities.

It also saved £12m by creating revenue through Oxford Direct Services, which offers gardening, construction work and vehicle repair.

It said the impact of Covid in particular would cost it £23m from 2020 to 2026.

In a statement, Mr Turner said: "We are looking at ways to save money and generate income to mitigate the impact and avoid needing to reduce services, but if we do not receive additional funding from the government, there will be some tough choices to be made."

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: "We are working with councils to understand the impact inflation will have on their budgets and stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns.

"Oxford City Council will receive an extra £1.1m this year, a cash-terms increase in core spending power of up to 4.9% compared to last year."

The cabinet is due to meet on 13 July to agree on a new budget strategy.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].