Oxford City Council says it needs £2m savings to balance budget

Oxford City Council said "significant measures" were needed to stabilise its finances

A council has said its budget for the next year includes "unwelcome" cuts to services and increases to charges.

Oxford City Council said it would need £2m to balance its budget for the next year.

It has proposed an increase in council tax and planning fees as sources of additional income.

Councillor Ed Turner said it had been "the hardest year" due to unprecedented rises in costs of housing, energy, construction and homelessness.

The council has been generating nearly £20m of income each year from the companies and commercial property that it owns.

It said this meant it was not currently at risk of having to join other councils around the country in issuing a Section 114 notice, which is when local authorities have to halt spending on anything that is not required by law.

But a number of "significant measures" were needed to stabilise its finances, the council said.

It said the balance could be achieved through increasing some fees and charges for services such as parking and garden waste collection.

The budget also proposes an increase in council tax by 2.99% for 2024-25 before falling back to 1.99%.It would then be able to maintain investment in leisure and parks, continue support for youth work, and carry on its programme of council house building and upgrading existing stock.

New investments are also planned in improvements to the Covered Market, regeneration of Oxford's West End, and reopening the Cowley Branch Line to rail passengers.

Ed Turner, cabinet member for finance and asset management, said inflation challenges such as rises in construction costs and homelessness were "blighting local government".  

"We've also got a significant number of people being made homeless because their rents have become unaffordable - that's leading to a significant financial pressure," he said.

"We have tried to safeguard frontline services and, in particular, focus wherever possible on delivering services more efficiently and on generating new streams of income.

"However, this budget includes some unwelcome immediate service cuts and increases in charges."

Mr Turner said that if the campaign for resources from central government "does not bear fruit", the council would look at "significant cuts" across its community services.

The budget will be considered by the cabinet on 13 December, and a public consultation will open on 15 December on the council's website.

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