The Oxfordshire County Council cuts to the town’s subsidised bus services will happen in the next two weeks. This will make it more difficult for elderly people, without their own transport, to get into town and to the community hospital. Most effected are villages, and areas in North Abingdon away from the Oxford Road. I was approached by one elderly person yesterday in town who felt very angry about the cuts, and said that they, and others they know, will feel more isolated.
Cutting bus subsidies is being done because of cuts to local government finances imposed by central government with the aim of having a budget surplus by 2020, a target that the chancellor of the exchequer has had to abandon after the Brexit vote.
Hooray for Brexit. Perhaps the local councils will have more money to spend on OUR services.
There is no reason to believe that local councils will have more money to spend on local services as a result of Brexit.
It’s much more likely that they will have less as economic growth slows.
Won’t somebody please think of the Cornish!
Janet, you clearly have no concept of basic economic principals if you truly believe your statement.
cutting these services and further isolating elderly residents is a disgrace. but it’s what we voted for locally by voting Nicola Blackwood into parliament and passing power to David Cameron. so we can’t really grumble too much
The Cornish already have a border control point at the Tamar bridge.and have been calling St Mawgan “Newquay International Airport” for years
No matter, the Germans and Dutch will still wnat their ‘foreign’ holidays
My relations in Cornwall said that the E U wanted to merge Devon and Cornwall and make it a zone of Federal Europe.
I heard that too, Janet. Apparently because the new federal zone was a coastal region with lots of seagulls, the faceless Eurocrats were going to call it “Gullible”.
Now the government cuts are hitting the elderly too, perhaps they will vote for a more progressive government next time. One that invests instead of cuts.
Well said, Nick.
Would be good to see Nicola Blackwood making her voice and opinions known on the matter of cuts, not just Science-related, one way or the other. The message just now is one of indifference.
Nicola Blackwood has made her views known via voting with the Government on these matters in Parliament,
I have just seen some information about a limited service the County Council are setting up which may help some of those affected by the cuts – see https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/oxfordshire-comet
While there are all sorts of arguments why this is not a great solution, it may be of practical help to some people so hopefully anyone who is trying to help isolated older people will look into it further for them.
Not being funny, but what do you eventually expect when since 1979 voters have consistently voted for the promise of better services but lower taxes?
Sooner or later there is no more fat to pare and you start cutting in to bone.
What annoys me is that they are cutting these buses and other council services while still finding the money for grandiose schemes like HS2, road improvements to the A40, etc. etc. I wonder if it has anything to do with large contracting companies and their relationship with you know who? Something little bus operators cannot possibly match.
Perhaps Nicola Blackwood will get a transport ministry? She must be due a ministry by now, surely? She was tipped for one two reshuffles ago.