In the private sector, many firms have seen a reduction in staff, reflecting the need to cut costs and economise in the highly competitive global market.

Yet in some parts of the public sector, staff levels and wage bills are going through the roof.

The workforce at Oxfordshire County Council has grown by a staggering 30 per cent in the past 10 years.

In 1997, the council had 15,947 on its payroll. By March last year, the figure had increased to 20,819.

The authority attributes the rise largely to an increase in the number of teaching posts, and says that every request for a new post is rigorously tested.

Council taxpayers, who contribute a large part of the council wage bill, deserve a fuller and more convincing response.

Why has the council found it necessary to increase staff numbers by nearly 5,000? What jobs are these extra workers doing? And are they all really necessary?

Former Labour county councillor John Power has described it as an "excellently expensive council with too many staff doing too little and being paid too much".

Union official Mark Fysh fears it is a case of too many chiefs...

They may be predictable comments from opponents of the Tory cabinet.

But council taxpayers, who have seen their charges rise every year, sometimes dramatically, will no doubt also raise eyebrows at such an astonishing rise in the County Hall workforce.