Oxfordshire County Council 'needs to make savings of £50m'

A local authority says it needs to make savings of about £50m by 2024.

Oxfordshire County Council said it was under "financial pressures" due to the "national and international economic situation", with pressures on adult social care, and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Calum Miller, cabinet member for finance, said it faced "tough choices".

The cabinet will discuss how to approach next year's budget at its meeting on 18 October.

It will review a report outlining the process for developing and agreeing the budget for 2023/24.

The council said: "All local authorities face significant increases in inflation that are driving up costs and price increases in energy, fuel and materials.

"This year, the government is not expected to hold a spending review, so government funding will not keep pace with inflation, leading to a predicted funding shortfall of over £30m next year."

It said the further £20m was down to the growing nationwide costs of supporting children and young people with SEND, the rising cost of social care and care placements, and a national shortage of social care workers, meaning it had to pay more for agency staff.

The authority said Oxfordshire's growing and ageing population would continue to increase demand on services.

It also said the financial impact of implementing the government's adult social care reforms was "unclear", while the long-term impact of supporting children with high needs was "uncertain" because it was funded through the government's dedicated schools grant which was "consistently less than the sum required".

Mr Miller said: "The county council is on the frontline of supporting the most vulnerable people in our communities. We are committed to them and their families but, as the cost of doing this rises and our funding fails to keep pace, we face tough choices.

"We will manage the council's finances responsibly and are planning ahead carefully to meet current and future financial challenges."

The council will publish its budget proposals in the second half of November, with a public consultation to follow.

The results will be reported to the cabinet in January, with the budget set in February.

The government has been approached for comment.

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