A DOZEN jobs would be axed under plans to outsource an £8m council service for people with learning disabilities, leading to concerns about the new arrangements.

Oxfordshire County Council is looking to get another provider to run its £7.8m supported living and daytime support service, with 12.5 full-time equivalent posts lost in the process. The service employs 284 staff caring for 380 people, providing day centre care, transport, and help with tasks such as moving house.

The move is part of plans to slash £114m from the council’s budget over the next four years.

Last night, disabled rights champion Mark Smyth said: “We have been working with the council to manage the cuts, but when the council gives up its responsibilities in this area it can, in some instances, be frightening for people with learning disabilities.

“Outsourcing is not necessarily the most innovative approach, or the most appropriate thing to do in all circumstances.”

Mr Smyth, co-ordinator of learning disabilities charity My Life My Choice, said: “Outsourcing can create uncertainty and that can lead to fear, so we will try to minimise the effects of that if these cuts do get pushed through.”

Gail Hanrahan, spokesman for Oxfordshire Family Support Network, whose son Guy, 21, has learning disabilities, added: “We will be watching this process closely to try to ensure that the changes do not impact on people with learning disabilities and their families.”

A council report said the move would not make major savings in the short term. Yet it said greater use of personal budgets, state cash given to people to spend on their care as they choose, meant demand for the service could drop, wasting taxpayers’ cash.

About 90 per cent of all care services are expected to be provided by other organisations by 2012.

The report says: “We have robust processes in place to protect the safety of individuals being supported by the external organisations which would take over the running of these services.”

But it warns some staff maybe unwilling to transfer to the new provider, increasing vacancies, and it could hit staff morale. A final decision will be taken later this year.

Council spokesman Marcus Mabberley said: “This proposal is precisely that – a proposal, which will be consulted on in full.”