Sir – Considering the gravity and extent of the savage cuts Oxfordshire County Council is implementing, I was disappointed with the glib reply to a question that I asked at the county council meeting last Tuesday.
The question aimed to illicit clear evidence to ensure every councillor who decided to vote for any kind of cuts would be properly informed of their duty to safeguard vulnerable people, show the duty of care to staff and show that equality and human rights legislation was not compromised if the cuts to services they voted for were implemented.
What I received was a description of the process, which did not detail evidence that councillors had ever fully considered health, safety and legal rights of vulnerable people in relation to specific cuts they were planning. Reference was made to the Service Community Impact Assessments on the council website.
These are bland to say the least.
Those councillors who voted for cuts in the past few years, and may still do so in the future, can be identified and need to think of the consequences of voting for more.
It is possible they will face legal action as vulnerable people in Oxfordshire die or lives are damaged as a result of this Conservative council making savage, ill-informed decisions and ignoring their duty to uphold human rights.
Alison Williams
Deputy chairwoman
Oxfordshire Green Party
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