Oxfordshire County Council overhaul could cut up to 900 jobs

Council leader Ian Hudspeth said customer service, supported by new technology, would be at the heart of the operating model

Nearly 900 jobs could be culled by Oxfordshire County Council as part of plans for a major structural overhaul.

It will be considered by councillors in September, with job losses over the next two to three years if approved.

Council leader Ian Hudspeth said the changes would reduce administration costs and protect frontline services.

It is estimated the move will save £34-58m per year over five years. The council needs to save £33m as part of its four-year budget plan.

There is an estimated one-off cost of up to £18m to implement the new operating model.

Mr Hudspeth said they hoped to redeploy everyone within the organisation, although the council later clarified this could not be guaranteed.

"We have a churn-over of about 650 jobs every year, so over the three-year period we should be able to find redeployment for everybody within the organisation," he said.

"Obviously we will be still running day-to-day services and where people need face-to-face conversations or via telephone, that will still be accessible."

He added: "But it is about transforming the way we actually operate behind the scenes to make sure that all our operations talk together, to ensure that we are actually delivering the best service possible."

Mr Hudspeth was not able to confirm how many compulsory redundancies would be made, but said the council was working with unions.

The union, Unison, said it was concerned over the scale of the proposals as well as the move to digital systems, which would replace personal service with automation.