COUNCILLORS unanimously backed a plan to investigate whether the county council could launch a Living Wage for Oxfordshire.

Oxford City Council already has its Oxford Living Wage, which is currently £10.02 an hour, but only 18 employers have signed up to the scheme so far.

But Labour councillor Deborah McIlveen urged her colleagues to see whether one could be launched across the county to cut absenteeism and improve living standards.

The county council said implementing a Living Wage was impossible in 2017 and that it would cost between £2m and £20m.