OXFORDSHIRE County Council bosses are to press ahead with library funding cuts and job losses despite new figures which suggest it will escape the cuts relatively unscathed.

The Government this week published how much revenue councils would lose, with some hit as hard as 8.9 per cent. Oxfordshire would go down 1.87 per cent.

But leader Keith Mitchell said this did not reflect the true picture, where it will lose 17 per cent of Government cash, £33.7m, for next year.

The Government’s figures include cash which the council has no choice over how to spend, he said.

Mr Mitchell added: “We are pretty close to our estimates, but you cannot call it good news.”

And the council said it may have to “readjust” its savings to cut a further £4m.