Oxford City Council has been accused of handing out ‘freebies’ to win support for its local government reorganisation plans.
The city council supports the establishment of a ‘Greater Oxford’ which would cover Oxford and its Green Belt.
The local authority has also announced free leisure centre passes for residents in the areas that would be incorporated into ‘Greater Oxford’ if the proposal is approved.
County councillor Tim Bearder criticised the move, telling the BBC: ‘What we ought to be doing is working towards a well-evidenced business case looking at the practicalities of this.
‘It should not be about offering freebies to residents to entice them. It should be based around how we deliver services.’
Cllr Susan Brown, leader of Oxford City Council, told LocalGov: ‘We agree that Oxford has a strong leisure offer, which includes free swimming for under 17s and heavily discounted leisure centre membership for people on qualifying benefits. Under our proposals, this offer would be extended to all Greater Oxford residents.’
Senior Whitehall mandarins yesterday reminded councils not to use public funds to persuade residents to back their favoured reorganisation proposal.
For more on local government reorganisation, check out What Council Unitarisation Means for Neighbourhood Services by APSE chief executive Mo Baines.
