Council Budget - Lib Dems Call for Improvements

12.00.00am GMT Tue 17th Jan 2006

Dermot Roaf, Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition, said at today's cabinet meeting that he is concerned that the budget being proposed by the Tory administration does not really meet residents' wishes for improvements in local services.

The recent MORI survey of Oxfordshire people showed that care for older people, facilities for young people and maintenance of roads and pavements were very important services, but ones on which they felt that the County Council was failing. And the recent council tax survey said that people wanted the Council to spend more on these services.

There is a particular problem with the budget for care for older people. Cllr Roaf said that the £1m so-called "Emergency Fund" now being proposed for social and health care is not adequate, even to meet the needs of older people alone. It is for one- year only, and set against nearly a net £2.5m of reductions (or "reprioritisations").

Cllr Dermot Roaf said that he welcomed the changes to preserve the youth service budget. "The changes made will allow a standstill budget," he said, "but we see clearly from the MORI survey that residents want us to increase the facilities and activities available. This cannot all be done at once, of course, but we need to make a start, perhaps by providing match funding for clubs set up by Districts, Towns, Parishes and voluntary organisations."

And, finally, he called for improved spending on public transport and road and pavement maintenance. "The budget proposes cuts in highway maintenance," said Cllr Roaf. "But more is needed so that repairs are done more quickly. The cost of providing buses is rising faster than normal inflation and this budget is not providing for this extra cost so there will be fewer rural buses.

"It is a shame that the Tories are more interested in dogmatically sticking to a minor decrease in the rise in Council Tax than in thinking about what improvements people have asked for. This budget cuts services to get to that figure. I think that people would prefer to pay the Government figure of 5% to maintain more services - an increase of only £6 per year for Band D houses."