ALMOST 80 staff could face redundancy at Oxfordshire County Council by the end of June as back-office departments move to Winchester.

The authority has set up a new business centre with Hampshire County Council to cut costs.

A report to senior councillors by Oxfordshire’s chief finance officer Lorna Baxter said it would save a total of £805,000.

It will also enable the county council to move out of Unipart House in Oxford, which she said would save a further £759,000 and further cash on IT systems it no longer needs.

Under the plans, 11 staff have so far agreed to transfer to Hampshire, with 79 set to be made redundant at a cost of £1.32m.

But Ms Baxter said in her report that they could still be redeployed to other parts of the authority before June 30.

She wrote: “Staff who have chosen not to transfer are at risk of redundancy and will be given a severance package if it is not possible to redeploy them.

“Vacancies across the council, as they occur, are being made available.”

Ms Baxter added that experience from Hampshire – which set up the business centre in early 2014 – meant it was expected to take about six months to complete the transition to Winchester.

The county council will move financial service teams, human resources and school finance support services there, although some will remain in Oxfordshire.

The new arrangement is due to “go live” on July 1.