OXFORDSHIRE County Council leader Keith Mitchell said the £106m cuts are necessary because the authority believes the grant it gets from the Government will be cut over the next few years.

But while he said the council was still financially sound, he believed it could be run more efficiently.

Speaking as the council announced the areas it was looking to make cuts and raise more money, Mr Mitchell said: “The sheer scale of debt any government will need to repay in the years ahead means we know we’ll get a lot less money to spend.

“We have been using this as an opportunity to re-evaluate radically how we work, strip out the things we don’t need, become leaner and more efficient and deliver world-class services in which every Oxfordshire pound is working as hard as possible for residents.

“When we’re through the tough times what residents will get is an even more efficient and driven council, working for them to give real choice and value for money.

“That means hard choices now, honest assessments and, in some cases, cuts. I will not insult residents’ intelligence by pretending otherwise.”

Councillors from the county’s watchdog committees will meet the cabinet this week to look at the options.

Those councillors will be told tough choices will have to be made about whether some services continue and how they are paid for. Discussions amongst councillors will be carried out through to December before the cabinet makes its decisions in January.

The full council will be then finalise the budget plans the following month.

A spokesman said funding for schools would not be affected because it was ring-fenced by the Government and could not be used for other services.

Mr Mitchell added: “This is an opportunity to accelerate some of the excellent work we already do in delivering better services and greater value in conjunction with partner organisations such as the PCT, district councils and others.

“We’re being open, honest and up-front in considering everything we could do.”