NEW housing estates with fewer street lights and visits to the elderly over Skype are radical changes being considered to save even more millions from the county budget.

It comes as Oxfordshire County Council warns fresh Government cuts – likely to be announced this year – could leave it with £60m of extra savings to be made These would be on top of the £284m the council has to make by 2018.

County council leader Ian Hudspeth warned: “The budget is going to be pretty horrific because we have already made such large savings, that we will have to look at things that people thought unthinkable before.”

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Mr Hudspeth signalled funding for services it is not legally obliged to provide, such as children’s centres, community groups, homeless support, libraries and youth centres, could all be placed in the firing line.

But he said there would be uncertainty about exactly what savings needed to be made until the Government completed its latest spending review at the end of the year.

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Mr Hudspeth said: “In the past we have trimmed spending based on our existing model, rather than looking at what we can actually deliver with the money we have.

“Now we have got to look at a restructure of the council and how we can keep serving the most vulnerable.

“Although some people will say ‘you can’t remove these services’, we have got to be realistic and ask if this is a service more important than protecting the vulnerable.”

The council leader said he had instructed members of his cabinet to re-examine “all areas” of their departments from the ground up, to suggest how services can be delivered differently.

It is understood this could see some areas merged or cut altogether.

A review of all bus subsidies in the county has already begun, but Mr Hudspeth revealed other ideas, such as cutting back on personal care visits to the elderly - in favour of contact via internet video services such as Skype - were also being seriously considered for the first time.

Mr Hudspeth said: “Times change and there has been a big take-up of internet use among the elderly.

“We would never discriminate against those who could not use it, but perhaps the council could use technology such as Skype to check on the elderly who use the internet instead of visiting.”

Currently, 1,719 people receive home care and there are 34,614 visits carried out each week.

He added that personal visits would still be carried out however: “You would not want a situation where no human interaction takes place.”

Wallingford pensioner Janet Bullen, of Meriden Court, said elderly people wanted to learn how to use the internet but said there was a lack of lessons in rural areas.

The 76-year-old said: “I would be very interested in learning to use it but struggle at the moment.”

But grandfather-of-four Alan Lawson, of Berinsfield, said it was “a good idea”.

Mr Lawson, 68, added: “It would certainly save a lot of money and I would be happy to talk to someone on a computer if I was in care.”

Reducing the number of street lights in new developments to only those that are essential for road safety is also an idea put forward, with the aim of saving money on long-term maintenance.

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Ian Hudspeth

Mr Hudspeth said: “It is the long-term maintenance costs as well as the electricity and you have to ask if they are needed. It would be a fundamental shift in what housing developments have.”

The idea was backed by A2 Dominion, the developer behind the North West Bicester estate.

Project director Steve Hornblow said: “Safety and appropriate locations are two of the key factors to consider when planning street lighting.

“The council understands this, so we would support its efforts to reduce energy use, save public money and avoid unnecessary light pollution, while maintaining a safe environment for our residents.”

The council has previously said it needs to replace about 1,600 street lights a year “to keep pace with the rate of deterioration”.

This year it will spend about £1m on the work, partly funded by a Government grant.

The county’s 112,000 drainage gullies are also to be looked at, with those in areas more likely to flood prioritised instead of regular checks for all.

As reported in the Oxford Mail, the council’s £708m property portfolio is also to be looked at.

Although the vast majority is school buildings, Mr Hudspeth said the authority would look to consolidate its services into fewer buildings or share with district councils.

THE BUDGETS

THIS year (2015-16) the council’s directorate budgets are:

  • Children, education and families (including schools, children’s social care and safeguarding) – £107,049,000
  • Social and community services (including fire service and adult social care) – £208,748,000
  • Environment and economy (including flood defences, roads, waste management, parking, supported transport and major infrastructure) – £76,581,000
  • Chief executive’s office (human resources, finance, law, policy) – £18,793,000