SERVICES for young people and the elderly are to bear the brunt of more than £20million in budget cuts planned by Lancashire County Council next year.

Bosses have admitted they will need to cut £21.7million in 2010/11, plus another £15million the following year.

Council leader Geoff Driver insisted the changes would not affect the quality of services offered. But he admitted a further £2million needed to keep his pledge to freeze council tax in March would require 'reductions' in some services.

He said: “What we will be doing is putting forward a range of savings to bridge that gap."

All this is in addition to the major cuts forecast for the following three years, revealed last September, of up to £110million, depending on how much support the council is given by the government.

The first details emerged yesterday of where the savings will come from, as the council’s Conservative leadership published an outline of its plans to find the £21.7million.

The adult and community services department, which includes care homes and meals on wheels, plans to shave £7.6million from its annual £383million budget.

The children and young people’s department is targeting savings of £6.8million, and the environment department £4.5million.

Coun Driver would not reveal details of where the savings are to be made. This will be presented to the cabinet in the New Year.

He said: “This is what each individual department proposed. I have been through each one and can say the actual service to the people of Lancashire will not be affected.

“It is changing the way we do things rather than what we do.”

Among the extra pressures on budgets is an increase in the number of people not failing to pay their council tax - with district councils reporting a £1million shortfall across Lancashire.

The Tories, who took control in June, also plan major changes to the council’s capital programme - which includes long-term projects on roads and buildings. They are expected to scrap around £60million of schemes put forward by the previous Labour administration, and have proposed a new list of projects worth £65.8mill