A Labour County Council would:

• increase recruitment and training of social workers to protect vulnerable children; 
• extend opening times for more youth centres; 
• provide an extra million pounds for the care of older people; 
• fund more bus services in urban and rural areas; 
• remove the residents' parking charges in Oxford
• use council tax for front line services rather than bureaucracy, spin and high salaries.

For further details of these points and the policies set out below go to: http://www.oxfordshire.labour.co.uk/ 

Council finances

The Tories have mismanaged the council's finances and are now struggling to balance the books.  They have consistently sacrificed the most vulnerable members of the community to fulfil irresponsible promises on council tax and free Park and Ride.

Labour would

• protect the most vulnerable members of the community while avoiding excessive increases in council tax; 
• provide more funding for social services and public transport rather than spend £1.3m a year on subsidising Park and Ride to make it free.

Children and young people

The Tories have failed Oxfordshire children.  Ofsted's 2008 annual performance assessment placed Oxfordshire in the bottom 27% of 147 councils for the overall effectiveness of its children's services.  The Council had already lost its four star status because of inspectors’ concerns about child protection and educational achievement.  Oxfordshire’s GCSE results are worse relative to the national average for the maintained sector than they were in 2005.   

Labour would

• stop schools being blamed for the Council’s failures; 
• work with schools to ensure the next generation of children in Oxfordshire reach their full potential; 
• recruit more social workers and provide better training for social workers and their managers in order to protect the county’s most vulnerable children;
• extend the opening hours of more youth centres in order to get more young people involved in positive activities; 
• conduct a comprehensive review of how the youth service works with partners at local level.

Adult social care

The Tories cannot be trusted on social care.  They have a record of blocking beds in local hospitals by underfunding social services and of making older people wait long times for care home places.  Figures from the Commission for Social Care Inspection show that in 2007/08 Oxfordshire was the eighth worst out of 150 councils in England at preventing delayed discharges from acute hospital beds (after being fifth worst in 2006/07).

Labour would

• fund social care properly - it would spend £1.1m more than the Tories on older people in 2009/10;
•  fund additional care home places to reduce delayed discharges from hospital and waiting times for people waiting at home; 
•  fund more respite beds to give carers a break; 
• defend direct council funding of practical home support (help with shopping, cleaning, laundry etc).

Transport

The Tories favour cars over people.  Their transport policies damage the environment and promote inequality.  Their £1.3m a year subsidy to Park and Ride to make it free could be better spent on public transport and social services.

The Tories also charge Oxford residents for parking outside their own homes while giving visitors to the city free city centre parking in the evenings and on Sundays.  The Liberal Democrats backed the residents’ parking charges when they were in coalition with the Tories and have now budgeted to keep them.

Labour would

• provide substantial additional funding for bus services - it would provide £0.5m more than the other political groups for bus services in 2009/10; 
• remove the residents’ parking charges in Oxford  but charge for Oxford city centre evening/Sunday parking;
• employ a dedicated cycling officer.

Sustainable development

The Tories and Liberal Democrats have a ‘not in my back yard’ approach to development.  The Liberal Democrats have sided with the Tories - and against their own colleagues on Oxford City Council - in opposing the provision of new housing on the southern edge of Oxford.

Labour would support sensible development to meet local housing needs (e.g. the provision of new housing on the southern edge of Oxford).