Oxford City Council cuts to cost 100 workers their jobs

One hundred jobs are expected to be axed at Oxford City Council as part of spending cuts.

The Labour-run authority, which needs to save £10m a year for four years, set out its draft budget at the weekend.

About 50 jobs will go through redundancies and the rest will be achieved through staff movement or "natural wastage", the council said.

Any final decisions will be made in February, when the council finds out its budget from the government.

Pay freeze

However, the council has assured residents that council tax will not rise next year.

As part of the draft budget, senior management and councillors have agreed to a pay freeze, and staff will not receive any annual pay rises.

About 60% of the budget gap - of about £6m - will be addressed through efficiency savings, while about 25% will met by increased council fees and charges.

Increased parking fees or charging for park and ride schemes and services such as garden waste collection and pest control are some of the measures being considered.

Leader of the council Bob Price said: "In some of the suburban car parks, charges are really rather low at the moment, and we think that it would be perfectly sustainable to pay a bit more."

The rest of the budget gap - about £1.9m - could be tackled by measures including cutting the number of police community support officers, street wardens and park rangers, and reducing the amount spent on cemetery maintenance, flower-planting, community centres and planning enforcement.

Free swimming for children could also be affected.