Cuts to plug £33m funding gap in Worcestershire

The plans will be considered by the council in February

A council has said it plans to raise taxes but also make millions of pounds worth of cuts in order to balance its budget.

Worcestershire County Council said it needs to plug a gap of £33m in 2018-19, in order to meet the cost of caring for vulnerable children and adults.

The Conservative-run authority said adoption and educational support could be among the services to see cutbacks.

Opposition leaders said the policy would "push people to the brink".

'Challenging times'

The council said some of the areas that could suffer included adoption services and educational support, which could both see cuts of £300,000.

Midlands Live: Fatal stab victim named; Commonwealth Games decision 'close'

Library services could see a £1m cut, while £500,000 could be axed from day services for adults with learning difficulties.

The authority also proposed a council tax rise of 4.94%.

Council leader Simon Geraghty said the authority was determined to live within its means.

He added he hoped the authority would be able to invest more money in services it believed were important to residents, such as road improvement, safeguarding children and protecting vulnerable adults.

However, Labour group leader Peter McDonald said the plans were "wicked".

"[The council] knows full well that pushing this policy of austerity is pushing people to the brink," he said.

The plans will be considered by councillors in February.