IT SEEMS Oxfordshire County Council is destined to make more cuts than an overzealous tree surgeon with a new chainsaw.

Every few months another bombshell of bad news from the local authority lands, with more savings to be made and services “reviewed”.

We’re all for giving good value for money, but after swinging the axe at services so often over the past few years, there is no more old wood to chop out.

The mighty oak of social care, service and responsibility is being chopped down over successive years.

Looking ahead it seems almost certain that bus subsidies will go, possibly alongside children’s centres, libraries and youth services.

Yes, the Government has slashed funding for councils and will continue to do so later in the year when the next spending assessment is revealed. And Ian Hudspeth and his team will be trying to find new ways to make the dwindling money go round.

But let’s hope Mr Hudspeth, who is said to be close to the PM, has told David Cameron just what effect these cuts are having on the people of Oxfordshire. He says it is important to protect the vulnerable.

Yet reducing visits to the elderly and replacing them with Skype visits, and scrapping all but a few streetlights on new-build estates, surely raises their vulnerability.