ALMOST £7m of extra funding for council departments were approved yesterday amid rising demand for services including the protection of children.

Oxfordshire County Council bosses requested councillors approve funds because of major overspends in children’s and adult social care.

Councillors at yesterday’s full council meeting agreed to transfer £5.944m from contingency and reserves and £850,000 from grant funds.

It comes after Conservative council leader Ian Hudspeth warned that rising demand on services was making it harder than ever to balance its books.

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The call was backed by Labour shadow cabinet member for children and adult services Gill Sanders who called for more Government funding.

Services are facing more pressure than ever as more vulnerable people are identified in the wake of Thames Valley Police’s Operation Bullfinch, she said.

This was a joint investigation with the council in 2011 into suspected serious sexual offences against children and young people in Oxford.

It resulted in the jailing of seven Oxford men at the Old Bailey last year for a total of 95 years, for sex crimes against young girls.

A serious case review will look into how the girls were allowed to be groomed and trafficked. It is due to be published by the end of the year.

Regarding the extra funding, Mrs Sanders said at County Hall, Oxford: “I support this request.

“Our council officers, police, social services and other agencies are working together very effectively to identify children who need early or late interventions.

“We also have an ageing population that brings further problems of how we will provide care and support.

“And as we all know this demand is going to continue to be even greater.”

She added: “What worries me greatly is how we are going to find the funding to work with the most vulnerable in society over the next few years.

“Once our reserves disappear, how will we maintain the services for those who desperately need their support in the future?”

Adult social care is facing a £3.6m overspend at the end of this financial year and children’s social care is facing an overspend of £5.5m.

Last February it made £64m in cuts as the Government reduce its cash support to the council.

The council’s Children, Education and Families budget for 2014/2015 is £103.3m. Its budget for Social and Community Services is £214.1m.

From 2010/11 to 2017/18, Government funding for its revenue budget – which pays for the running of services – will fall by 39 per cent, or £96m.

Council spokesman Paul Smith said: “Oxfordshire County Council has an excellent track record of managing its complex budgets and has always worked hard to avoid overspends in the course of delivering 80 per cent of the county’s local government services.

“This has been managed despite significant cuts to local Government, which began in 2010.

“Clearly managing these situations becomes more and more difficult for all councils as the levels of cuts get ever deeper.”

The council’s provisional settlement for the next financial year is expected to be published in December. Its overspend will be confirmed next summer.

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