A cut to mental health and community care fees will hit finances hard, a county NHS boss has warned.

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Stuart Bell criticised moves to cut tariffs by 1.8 per cent for non-hospital trusts but 1.5 per cent for hospital authorities from April 1, hitting it by £750,000. The trust is paid by Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, to use 1.8 per cent as a guide.

Mr Bell said it would have a “serious impact” on the trust’s financial position.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “There must be equal priority between mental and physical health services. We expect the NHS to bear this in mind when making decisions about how to spend money on services for local people.”