OXFORDSHIRE County Council is to hold a “Big Debate” with the public in Didcot tomorrow to find out residents’ views on budget cuts.

With Chancellor George Osborne already indicating that Government departments will have to cut a quarter of their spending between 2011 and 2015, the council is already planning to make £200m of cuts by 2015.

But council bosses have warned that figure may have to increase further once the Government presents its Comprehensive Spending Review next month and councils are told how much money they will be getting.

The council is holding public meetings across Oxfordshire, asking residents about which areas should be protected, what should be cut, and how council services should change to cope with the unprecedented budget cuts.

In the Herald area, a meeting will take place at the Cornerstone arts centre, Didcot, tomorrow from 7.30pm to 9pm.

The council will also visit Abbey Hall, Abingdon, for a similar public meeting on Thursday, September 30, from 7.30pm to 9pm.

Anyone who cannot attend a meeting can have their say online at the website: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/bigdebate Council leader Keith Mitchell said: “None of us are under any illusions about the stark nature of the choices that face us here.

“We will have to cut back significantly if not completely on some of our services. The level of change will be unprecedented.”

He added: “It is important that we factor in the views of Oxfordshire residents when making these incredibly tough choices. We hope that people in Didcot and nearby towns and villages will come along on Thursday, September 16, to play their part in our Big Debate.

“We would very much like to see and hear from people at our public meetings. We’re all in this together, councillors, council officers and the general public — and that's across the country, not just in Oxfordshire.”

He said the council would know more about specific Government cuts next month, and then hear how it affects Oxfordshire specifically by the end of the year.

The county council provides 80 per cent of local council services. Its remit includes schools, the youth service, children’s and adult social care, libraries and museums, highways, waste disposal, fire and rescue service, and trading standards. It receives about two thirds of its funding from central Government.

The council has already been told to make £13m of cuts from this year’s budget, on top of its own savings programme initiated after cuts to council grants were announced earlier in the summer.