OXFORD's council leaders are standing firmly against Government plans which could see them done out of a job through mergers.
As Oxford City Council met last night, its Labour leader Susan Brown and her deputy Tom Hayes tabled a debate on the Conservative Government's plans to merge councils across England.
Oxford is part of what is known as a 'two-tier' council area: the city council and other district councils look after local housing needs, collects the bins and maintains parks; while Oxfordshire County Council looks after roads, education and social care.
All of these councils could be merged into one, or possibly two councils, which would be responsible for all services.
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At the meeting, the council voted in favour of writing to the government's secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Robert Jenrick, to 'seek reassurance for local citizens that no such reorganisation will be imposed upon Oxford'.
The motion for debate criticised the Government's plans.
It said: "The Government’s criteria require over-large local authorities remote from their populations, and elected mayors whose primary accountability will be to Central Government rather than to local people."
An official document called a white paper which deals with reorganising councils is due for release soon.
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