Earlier this year, Oxfordshire County Council set its budget for 2026–27. As your County Councillor, I want to be transparent about what was decided what it means for residents in Grimsbury and Castle.

This is not a party political post. It is an account of decisions that will affect your daily life, and you deserve to know about them.

Local government has been dealing with financial difficulties for a long time now, mainly because grant funding has been decreasing since 2010. The demand for services has gone up, which means we are facing more costs and resource challenges, especially in children's and adult social care.

When the Council administration was planning our 2024/25 budget, the largest political party arrived at what they hoped to do in 2025/26. They, like many others, thought we would need more money to keep up with the growing demand for services, the increasing amount of waste, the expected population growth, changes in housing and the effects of inflation.

In the autumn, new challenges came up, like the increase in the national living wage and employers' national insurance, which made the planned work of the Council much more difficult. Because of this, in Oxfordshire we ended up with a £25 million gap in funding for 2025/26. This gap was already there before  the government's grant funding was considered.

In late December, we got the new funding that was promised for local government, which helped the Council's administration finish up and agree on the plans to fix the gap and get its budget balanced. Since most of our money comes from council tax, the Council's Cabinet decided to increase it by 4.99%, with two per cent going to adult social care.

The Council's residents' survey, feedback and other events and consultations helped get a picture of the priorities of Oxfordshire citizens. This is then viewed through the political lens of the largest political party on the Council and ultimately they have control of the pursestrings. As a result of all this, in 2025/26, we are increasing funding for fixing and maintaining roads and bridges (£54.8m), children's services (£17.8m) and flood response measures (£3.6m, which includes fixing the drainage on the roads).

The Council doesn't know exactly how funding changes will affect our services in the future. Councillors, like me, will keep working together to make sure we are doing the best we can for all, and I will advocate strongly for the Ruscote Estate, Neithrop, Grimsbury and the Rural Hamlet of Nethercote.

The budget is set, but scrutiny does not stop. The various scrutiny committees will continue to hold officers and Cabinet members to account on delivery. If savings are not being achieved in the way that was promised, or if the impact on residents is worse than projected, I will raise it.

If you have been affected by any of the changes described above, please contact me. Your lived experience is evidence, and evidence matters in scrutiny.

Full details of the 2026–27 budget, including the savings programme and capital investment plan, are available on the Oxfordshire County Council website. Cabinet and full Council meetings are open to the public, and I would encourage any resident who wants to understand how decisions are made to attend in person or watch the live stream.

Paul-Austin Sargent is the County Councillor for Banbury Grimsbury & Castle. He sits on the various Health Scrutiny committees and the Planning & Regulation Committee.