Oldham Council approved £8 million in budget cuts Monday night to close a £14 million deficit, eliminating 120 positions and raising council tax by 4.99 percent.

Nearly half the savings—£3.9 million—will come from adult social care, with services limited to what is deemed necessary on a case-by-case basis rather than the current wrap-around model. A further £3 million stems from restructuring that removes 120 roles, 80 percent of which were already vacant following voluntary redundancies last year. Finance portfolio holder Abdul Jabbar pledged “no compulsory redundancies” for the remaining 24 posts.

Smaller measures complete the package: permanently switching off malfunctioning floodlights at Radclyffe Athletics Centre will save £100,000 annually, while higher fees for school swimming-pool rentals, in-house parking management, and charging for replacement recycling bins will chip away at the shortfall. Without £27 million in government grants, town-hall chiefs warned, the gap “could have been much worse,” though benefits from planned funding reforms “will only be seen in a couple of years.”

Residents in the lowest council-tax band will pay an extra £77, taking their annual bill to £1,628; the highest band rises £232 to £4,883. Parishes in Shaw and Saddleworth may add further increases. “Nobody wants to increase council tax, but we have to,” Jabbar said, noting other authorities are imposing hikes of up to 9.9 percent. Council leader Arooj Shah added: “We’re going to have to work harder to make sure services work… and continue to offer value for money.” The budget faces a final vote on 6 March.

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