THERE is a saying: Justice should not only be done, but seen to be done.

Forgive us if we borrow the sentiment but similarly: Council cuts must not only be done but be seen to be done.

Yet today we reveal Oxfordshire County Council staff stayed overnight at the Heythrop Park resort to work through a transport plan for the county.

The council will try to dismiss this story by pointing out that the cost of the accommodation, room hire and meals was under £1,000.

But that misses the point entirely. The moment the county realised it would have to take a financial scythe to its budget, the rules over spending our money should have become much stricter.

Oxfordshire County Council exists solely to deliver services to the people.

And while £1,000 might not keep a library open for long, the withdrawal of every penny from services has to be scrutinised to ensure it cannot be found by efficiencies elsewhere.

This is not about the specific sum of money that was spent.

But the message it sends is that the council is quite happy to fritter your money away in luxurious surroundings when a meeting room in County Hall would have sufficed.