Tough new safety standards for minibuses could cost Oxfordshire County Council £830,000 - close to one-third of its total cash reserves.

Members of the social services urgency sub-committee were due to meet today.

Officers have recommended they ask the council to find £678,000 from balances to fund repairs and replacement for social services' vehicles.

The council may have to spend another £154,000 refurbishing and replacing minibuses owned by old people's homes and day centres. The present budget for vehicle replacement this year is only £57,000.

"It's an absolute horror," said Keith Mitchell, who will chair today's meeting.

"Officers originally thought the new safety standard would apply to new buses only but now we find it applies to all.

"We've got to do the improvements because if we don't then we're bound to have an accident the day the law changes."

At least eight of the fleet of ageing minibuses owned by the social services department will have to be replaced. All eight were bought before 1990 and only one was scheduled for replacement this year.

Of the department's other 38 minibuses only the newest - two buses bought this year - already comply with the new seatbelt standards. The new standards will come into force for all minibuses which have more than eight seats, with seat belts fitted to forward facing seats, on August 1.To bring the county council's vehicles up to scratch existing seats will need to be replaced with stronger ones on 23 buses and the floor will have to be strengthened on others.A report by Mary Robertson, the county's director of social services, and assistant county treasurer Sean Collins stresses that the council has a "duty of care" and must provide transport to day and respite centre for elderly people, disabled people, and people with learning difficulties."There is considerable concern about seat belts in minibuses both in Oxfordshire and nationally since the M40 minibus tragedy," it said."Under the circumstances the department must be seen to take all steps to comply with the legislation. Funding for modification or replacement of its own vehicles therefore must be identified."

Mr Mitchell said it was hoped to take the money from the council's £3m balances because to find it from the social services budget would mean deep cuts in other areas.

"We've got reserves of £3m left, they're for a rainy day, and this is a rainy day," he added.

The county council has already had to dip into its reserves this year to pay for damage caused by the Easter floods in Oxfordshire.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.