Oldham Labour's deputy leaders have pointed the blame the Government for what they describe as "damage" done by a series of cuts which threatens to hike council tax.

The borough's deputy leaders have claimed council services have suffered a series of real terms cuts by coalition and Conservative governments for more than a decade.

Meanwhile, Oldhamers have paid the price through council tax rises - and there are fears the council may have to resort to hiking it again if more isn't done to patch up the budget.

The National Audit Office estimates that between 2010/11 and 2020/21, government-funded spending power in Oldham declined by 53.7 per cent in real terms.

In 2010/11, central government funding to Oldham's revenue budget equated to £203m, while in 2019/20 that figure was just £39.5m.

The real terms cut estimate comes as the council reveals social care accounted for 53.6 per cent of its entire service spend in 2019/20.

But across the country, councils are struggling to meet contractual inflationary pressures and current estimates mean Oldham Council's budget will not be able to cover the costs without further cuts.

Deputy leader, Cllr Abdul Jabbar, said: "Oldham faces the same budget problems as every other council.

"Council services cannot take any more cuts imposed by central government.

"Since 2010, Oldham has had 45 per cent of its funding from central government cut, and since 2010 successive Conservative governments have forced local authorities to raise council tax to help meet this shortfall."

Cllr Jabbar added that the cuts and council tax rises have led to an "abhorrent situation where the council runs less services despite increasing council tax".

"This is not sustainable", he said.

"Council tax needs urgent reform - even Michael Gove says it is regressive, meaning poorer people pay more than they should - and we need long-term financial information to help us plan properly", Cllr Jabbar added.

Deputy leader Elaine Taylor also said a £3m pot of funding has been allocated to help Oldhamers cope with the cost-of-living crisis and that the council is trying to defend children's services and adult social care.

Cllr Taylor is now asking political parties and Oldham residents to sign a letter, urging the government to "properly and fairly fund local government and social care so that local authorities aren't forced to hike council tax".

She also said Labour will urge the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to speed up a review into council tax "so our residents aren't continually hammered by this regressive tax".

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “This year, we have made an additional £3.7 billion available to councils in England, including an extra £17.9 million for Oldham Council. 

“At the Autumn Statement, the Government announced a further £6.5 billion will be made available for local government to deliver core services in 2023/24 and 2024/25.”