WELL done to Keith Mitchell for regularly using the pages of the Oxford Mail to inform us of the changes and adjustments he and his team will need to make to control council spending going forward.

He now leads a county council that has decided to do what the private sector has been doing for years, improving their business for the benefit of the customer.

At last, he now realises that excessive spending is unsustainable, unaffordable and unacceptable to the majority of taxpayers of the county.

Good-quality basic services, delivered economically, is the requirement. Poorly-conceived, fanciful and expensive schemes are not required, thank you.

This new-found direction of fiscal management should be applauded by all, with one proviso.

No slipping back to the bad old days when the economy recovers, Mr Mitchell.

GEOFF MORRIS, Dashwood Avenue, Yarnton