The focus of the county Labour and Co-operative group is on tackling Oxfordshire residents’ priorities, and we’re very proud that in February, following the new Labour government’s allocation of additional funding for essential local services, we secured several important county council budget amendments. These will ensure that among other improvements there will be more money for roads and transport systems, for children with SEND, and for the revitalising of our high streets.
On 11 February 2025, Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) agreed the 2025/6 budget, with the following Oxfordshire Labour & Co-operative group amendments being accepted.
Oxfordshire Labour is committed to developing better walking and cycling routes throughout the county. We amended the budget to include the provision of £9.7m for the development of walking and cycling infrastructure across Oxfordshire, including in rural communities.
Transport infrastructure in our county is failing to meet the needs of Oxfordshire residents, who deserve to have their voices heard. We amended the OCC budget to include £50,000 to be spent on supporting the recommendations made by the Citizens’ Assembly on transport in Oxfordshire, and another £50,000 to publicise the findings of the Citizens’ Assembly on the future of county transport, and to undertake a follow-up public engagement exercise.
Oxfordshire Labour wants to see more money in your pocket whilst also promoting cleaner air in our town and city centres. We amended the OCC budget to freeze prices for Park & Ride joint tickets, and secured £140,000 to create area-based HGV enforcement zones, limiting HGVs in our market towns and villages. We take pride in our town centres, which is why we amended the budget to revitalise Witney High Street. We also secured £500k to support connectivity, and to promote healthier options through active travel, by encouraging walking, wheeling, and cycling.
Oxfordshire Labour is committed to renewing our road network, to ensure that it serves drivers, cyclists and other road users, remains safe, and tackles congestion. We secured £1 million to fund repairs to pavements and cycleways and £5 million to fix our roads. This means more pavement and pothole repairs throughout Oxfordshire.
Education should prepare all our children for life, work, and the future, whatever their particular needs and vulnerabilities. Yet Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support is in crisis. The current national system, introduced in 2014 by the then Conservative and Liberal Democrat Government, is failing to deliver fully for children and families across the UK. Locally, across Oxfordshire, parental confidence in SEND support is at an all time low, with children even being left without wheelchair access or help from teaching assistants. Because Oxfordshire Labour supports immediate improvements for SEND children and the families who care for them, we managed to amend the OCC budget to include £1.5 million of support in this key area.
Labour would like to end the scandal of children going to school hungry by introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school in Oxfordshire, which could save the average family £450 a year. Starting in April, eight Oxfordshire schools will be taking part in the national pilot scheme for breakfast clubs, and Oxfordshire Labour wants to take this further as soon as it is feasible. In the OCC budget, we secured £120,000 to identify barriers to the country-wide rollout of free breakfast clubs in all county schools.
Oxfordshire Labour is proactive in our commitment to narrowing the attainment gap for disadvantaged children, and we secured £250,000 in the OCC budget to deliver on the outcomes of Labour’s Local Education Commission. This focuses on alleviating educational barriers for disadvantaged children, especially for those in Oxfordshire’s most deprived communities.
Oxfordshire Labour is expanding support for children outside school. We know that when children and young people have access to youth workers, mental health support workers and careers advisers, their health and wellbeing improves, and they are less likely to be drawn into crime. That is why we are speeding up the opening of new youth centres. We secured £120,000 in the OCC budget for new youth hubs, to provide support and opportunities for young people in Oxfordshire, including in rural and deprived areas.
Labour’s plan for Oxfordshire is clear. We will rebuild county council services, tackle disadvantage, and strengthen our communities.
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