About Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfordshire County Council is the local authority for Oxfordshire, responsible for delivering services to the county’s 750,000+ residents. The council manages an annual gross budget of over £1bn, funding a wide range of essential public services across the county.
Council management & governance
There are 63 county councillors representing 61 divisions. The political make-up of the council is determined by elections held every four years, along with any subsequent by-elections. Councillors help residents raise concerns or queries about council services, offering advice or directing people to the appropriate support. Many also hold regular surgeries within their local communities.
Oxfordshire County Council operates a political management system with a clear separation between decision-making and scrutiny. All key decisions are made by the Cabinet, which consists of ten elected councillors. Day-to-day operations are delivered by the County Leadership Team, made up of the County Director and service directors who oversee the council’s range of public services.
A scrutiny function, involving all non-Cabinet Members, reviews the council’s performance, challenges Cabinet decisions, and helps improve service delivery and policy development. It also examines how decisions are made and considers issues of community concern.
Council funding and spending
Council funding is made up of approximately 62% council tax, 12% business rates, 20% central government grants, and 6% from fees and charges.
The council delivers around 80% of local government services by expenditure in the county. Major areas of spend include adult and children’s social care (53%), education and learning services (14%), and highways and transport, including roads (9%).
Other areas include public health improvement and prevention services (6%), waste disposal and recycling (6%), fire, rescue and community safety (5%), and libraries, museums, cultural, registration and coroner’s services (2%).
Council tax
The government caps council tax increases without a local referendum at 2%, which is why many councils, including Oxfordshire County Council, typically increase council tax by 1.99% to remain below the threshold.
While the county council sets the council tax precept for its services, the tax itself is collected by the district councils across Oxfordshire.
