The Lib Dem Budget - Caring for People (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk>

The Lib Dem Budget - Caring for People

February 4, 2008 11:56 AM

County Council Liberal Democrats have launched their alternative budget for the next five years. The main points that the Lib Dems feel would make a difference to people in Oxfordshire are:

• Extra investment in adult social care, to substantially reduce any possibility of cuts to the help needed by elderly, disabled and vulnerable people

• Extra youth workers across the County and investment in youth centres, to give young people positive things to do

• More investment in maintenance of pavements, cycle tracks and roads.

The Council Tax will rise by 4.25% to help fund this, although the Liberal Democrats have also made savings where appropriate, including reintroducing charging for on-street parking in Oxford in the evenings and on Sundays. The rise in Council Tax compared to the Cabinet's proposal would mean an additional £3.93 a year for an average Band D household, or 7.5p per week per household.

Opposition finance spokesperson Alan Armitage said, "With central Government giving Oxfordshire a reducing level of funding year-on-year, the only way to maintain the quality of our services is by asking Council Tax payers to contribute a little bit more. Lib Dems believe that people across the county will agree with us that services to old people and to the young cannot be allowed to deteriorate further. And the condition of roads and pavements in the county is a joke - it is just stupid not to maintain them better, because in the long run costs of major repairs are going to be even higher. We have shown how a responsible administration could focus resources effectively where they are most needed."

Lib Dem group leader Zoe Patrick added, "The Liberal Democrats wish to offer the people of Oxfordshire a real alternative budget. A budget which takes into account what people expect when they pay their council tax - quality services delivered to everyone as and when they need them. This gives us the opportunity to show that by voting Liberal Democrat you will get more - better care, more investment and more of the things that matter to people."