Council budget cuts delay plans for new mortuary

Plans for a new mortuary are being put on hold to help a council balance its budget.

Oxfordshire County Council aims to save £7.1m by delaying the development of the facility, and confirmed it has five years until the contract for its existing site expires.

Conservative councillor Kieron Mallon said it would be an "embarrassment" for Oxfordshire if bodies were being moved out of the county.

Senior officers from the Liberal Democrat-controlled council said a new facility was not "off the table" and - despite anticipating increased demand for the service - it had capacity "in the short term".

During a meeting on Friday, Mallon said: "There are only two certainties in life, death and taxes, and this covers both of them."

He said there was a "great fear" there would be a need to send bodies out of the county, with residents having to visit loved ones across the border to identify them.

The decision is part of the first round of cuts announced by the local authority.

Other savings include reducing a neighbourhood improvement project in east Oxford by £2m and returning £4.5m into central funds from a programme designed to share leisure facilities with local schools.

The local authority still needs to find an additional £5.4m in savings after being allocated less money by central government through the new fair funding formula.

Confirming the decision to save £7.1m by delaying the new mortuary, Vic Kurzeja - director of property and assets at Oxfordshire County Council - said the funds amounted to 50% of the overall amount already committed to the project.

Kurzeja said the council had negotiated an extension to the existing provider and it was working on a joint opportunity with "service partners", including the NHS, to develop a shared facility in the future.