Budget consultation 2023-24
On 14 February 2023, Oxfordshire County Council will meet to agree its budget. In this consultation we are asking residents, businesses and others for their views on our budget proposals for 2023/24, with a specific focus on savings. We also welcome any ideas from you on how we can make savings.
Introduction
We know that households across our county are facing huge financial challenges. Rising prices make this a cost of living emergency. The county council is also facing its most difficult budget pressures for many years.
All local authorities are having to deal with large increases in inflation that are driving up costs and prices for energy, fuel and materials. For 2023/24, we have a significant funding shortfall of at least £44 million.
Our budget proposals for 2023/24 include £35 million of savings. This still leaves us with a £9m gap.
The county council is on the frontline of supporting the most vulnerable people in our communities. We are committed to helping them and their families but, as the cost of providing services rises and government funding fails to keep pace with inflation, we face tough choices.
Our accompanying consultation booklet provides background information on the council’s finances and our approach to setting the budget this year. We encourage you to read this before having your say. We also recommend you read our budget proposals(External link) that will be discussed by the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Friday 9 December 2022.
Other supporting documents
We have also provided a link to:
- our media release about our budget proposals(External link)
- the overarching climate impact assessment(External link)(External link)
- the overarching equality impact assessment(External link)
- a detailed equality impact assessment for our parking income budget proposal should you wish to read these(External link).
Have your say
- Please complete our online survey to have your say.
The online survey asks for your feedback in a structured way and enables the council to receive responses quickly.
- You can also send your feedback by email to [email protected](External link) or write to:
Freepost OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
(No further address details are required and no stamp is needed, but please write
Budget consultation 2023/24 on the top left corner of the envelope.)
- All responses must be received by 19 December 2022.
What happens next
The public consultation results, alongside the views of the scrutiny meeting, will be reported to the council’s cabinet on 24 January 2023. The budget, including the council tax level, will be decided at a meeting with all county councillors on 14 February 2023.
