A SENIOR politician responsible for finances at a council says an amber warning light has been activated after his local authority announced it faces ‘tough choices’ over the coming months.
Oxford City Council made the statement on Wednesday, with it possible some services may be cut.
The local authority, which has an annual net budget of approximately £27 million, has to slash £5.5 million annually by 2026/27.
READ AGAIN: City council warns ‘tough choices’ ahead as services could be cut
Ed Turner, the council’s cabinet member for finance and asset management, said protecting the most vulnerable is a key concern.
He told the Oxford Mail: “Austerity is the left hook and Covid is the right hook, then you have a further left hook with inflation.
“The Government did cover elements of Covid but not all of it.
“We’re a Labour council, anything which is supporting the most vulnerable is a priority with us.”
Austerity has seen a £7 million reduction in funding over the last decade, the council reported, and receives no direct grant funding from the Government for its core activities.
Meanwhile, the pandemic and cost of living crisis have had a ‘significant impact’ on the council’s ability to generate income.
“Income from car parks, leisure centres and town hall room hire are all down, and rent from the city council’s commercial properties in Oxford remains negatively affected,” a statement read.
“The total financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the city council over the period 2020-2026 is forecast to be £23 million, with the city council forced to use 50 per cent of its reserves (£11 million) to support frontline services.”
Mr Turner said resolving the situation immediately wouldn’t be possible.
“General trading conditions are still challenging – tourism levels are not what they were at,” he said.
“There’s nothing that whizzy you can do, I wouldn’t expect to flick a switch and do things overnight.
“We’ll bend over backwards to do what we can to limit the impact on the people of Oxford.
“I suppose this is an amber warning light, but I want to assure people we’re being active and we’re doing everything we possibly can to mitigate this now.”
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— Oxford Mail (@TheOxfordMail) June 30, 2022
Mr Turner, who is also the council’s deputy leader, has written to senior Government figure Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to seek assistance with the situation.
The letter aims to draw attention to the ‘combination of fallout from the pandemic, rising energy costs, and other inflation-related pressures’ facing local authorities across the country.
“We’re making the case loud and clear to Government so we’ll have to see what happens there,” said Mr Turner.
The council will release its draft 2023/24 budget and 2024/27 medium-term financial plan in December, as normal, however the financial picture means it has started planning earlier this year.
Read more from this author
This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.
Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice
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