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Where your council tax goes in Cherwell
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Cherwell is £2,582.96 for 2026-27, split between Cherwell £163.50, Oxfordshire County Council £1,968.55, Oxfordshire County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase £38.23, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £298.28, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £114.40. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Oxfordshire County Council: £752.32 of the bill. Council tax pays for 12% of the council's own spending; the rest is government grant, business rates and fees.
Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Key figures
- £2,582.96Band D bill, 2026-27
- £163.50Goes to Cherwell itself (6%)
- £752.32Largest line: adult social care
- 12.0%Of the council's money that comes from council tax, 2025-26
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Who gets your bill
Figures are for a Band D home. Bands A to H pay a fixed fraction of this, set in law.
Parish precepts differ from parish to parish; this is the average across the area, and a home outside any parish pays none.
And where does that bit go?
Choose any part of the bill to see how it divides, then keep going as far as the published returns allow. Every level has its own link you can share.
Your bill: £2,582.96
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Cherwell £163.50
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Oxfordshire County Council £1,968.55
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Parish and town councils (average for the area) £114.40
Cherwell
£163.50 of your bill goes to Cherwell. It is shared out below in proportion to how Cherwell spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Environment and regulation £45.39
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Running the council £39.03
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Housing (not council homes) £38.34
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Planning and development £18.26
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Roads and transport £0.09
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 district councils in England closest in population: Arun, South Cambridgeshire, New Forest, Wealden, Braintree, Oxford, Preston, Mid Sussex, Canterbury, Dacorum. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Environment and regulation
£45.39 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Cherwell. Here is how its £9.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste collection £13.57
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Recycling and waste minimisation £9.73
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £7.55
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Street cleaning £7.40
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Community safety and CCTV £2.76
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Other environmental services £1.92
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Waste disposal £1.59
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Public toilets £0.64
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.21
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Cemeteries and crematoria £0.02
Running the council
£39.03 of your bill goes to running the council at Cherwell. Here is how its £8.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £16.86
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £12.01
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Collecting council tax and business rates £7.99
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Elections and electoral registration £1.58
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Emergency planning £0.35
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Local welfare assistance £0.25
Housing (not council homes)
£38.34 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Cherwell. Here is how its £8.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £11.28
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Private sector housing renewal £9.23
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Supporting People and welfare services £8.06
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £6.27
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £2.58
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Other General Fund housing £0.92
Council homes are not in this. Council housing is paid for through the Housing Revenue Account, from tenants' rents, and the law keeps it separate from the General Fund that council tax goes into. Cherwell reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2025-26: it has no council homes of its own, or they were transferred to a housing association. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£22.39 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Cherwell. Here is how its £4.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Sport and leisure £14.30
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £4.68
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £2.74
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Tourism £0.66
Planning and development
£18.26 of your bill goes to planning and development at Cherwell. Here is how its £3.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Planning policy £7.11
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Economic development and business support £5.78
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Community development £2.55
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Planning applications (development management) £1.86
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Building control £0.89
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Environmental initiatives £0.07
Roads and transport
£0.09 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Cherwell. Here is how its £19k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £0.06
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Road and bridge maintenance £0.02
Oxfordshire County Council
£1,968.55 of your bill goes to Oxfordshire County Council. It is shared out below in proportion to how Oxfordshire County Council spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £752.32
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Children's social care £436.07
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Education £373.25
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Roads and transport £136.55
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Environment and regulation £86.65
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Fire and rescue £81.55
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Running the council £42.13
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Public health £9.91
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Planning and development £7.52
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£347.7m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£36.9m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 county councils closest in population: Leicestershire County Council, Suffolk County Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Derbyshire County Council, Devon County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Staffordshire County Council, Warwickshire County Council. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£752.32 of your bill goes to adult social care at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £316.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Learning disability support £343.75
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Physical support £92.36
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Care assessment and safeguarding £69.23
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Mental health support £52.48
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £45.89
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £17.67
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Information and early intervention £14.55
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Assistive equipment and technology £13.82
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Sensory support £4.33
Learning disability support
£343.75 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £144.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £316.36
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Aged 65 and over £27.39
Support with memory and cognition
£98.23 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £41.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £91.89
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Aged 18 to 64 £6.34
Physical support
£92.36 of your bill goes to physical support at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £38.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £46.67
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Aged 18 to 64 £45.68
Mental health support
£52.48 of your bill goes to mental health support at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £22.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £28.53
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Aged 65 and over £23.94
Sensory support
£4.33 of your bill goes to sensory support at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £1.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £2.85
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Aged 18 to 64 £1.48
Children's social care
£436.07 of your bill goes to children's social care at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £183.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £255.02
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Safeguarding and social work £99.03
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Family support £37.52
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Asylum-seeking children £19.80
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Other children's and families' services £9.57
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Services for young people £8.37
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Youth justice £6.30
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Children's centres and early years £0.47
Education
£373.25 of your bill goes to education at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £504.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £139.23
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Early years and nursery £91.38
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Special schools and alternative provision £67.16
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Other education £48.61
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Post-16 £16.28
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Secondary schools £10.59
Roads and transport
£136.55 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £57.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Road and bridge maintenance £59.08
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Concessionary bus fares £26.88
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Transport planning and policy £26.61
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Street lighting (including energy) £10.56
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Winter service (gritting) £6.83
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £6.59
Road and bridge maintenance
£59.08 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £26.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £34.49
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £24.58
Environment and regulation
£86.65 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £36.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste disposal £63.02
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Recycling and waste minimisation £19.70
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Trading standards £3.85
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Community safety and CCTV £0.04
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Trade waste £0.04
Fire and rescue
£81.55 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £34.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £81.31
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Community fire safety £0.24
Running the council
£42.13 of your bill goes to running the council at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £17.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £30.46
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Coroners' and other courts £4.84
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Elections and electoral registration £4.53
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Other central services £1.27
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Emergency planning £0.81
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £0.20
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £0.03
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£34.09 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £14.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Libraries £22.43
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £7.37
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £4.29
Public health
£9.91 of your bill goes to public health at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £41.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £3.34
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Drug and alcohol services £2.52
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Sexual health £1.64
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Other public health £1.06
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Obesity and physical activity £0.51
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.37
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.33
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Public mental health £0.09
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Children's 5-19 programmes £0.03
Housing (not council homes)
£8.52 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £3.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Supporting People and welfare services £7.45
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Other General Fund housing £1.07
Council homes are not in this. Council housing is paid for through the Housing Revenue Account, from tenants' rents, and the law keeps it separate from the General Fund that council tax goes into. Oxfordshire County Council reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2025-26: it has no council homes of its own, or they were transferred to a housing association. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Planning and development
£7.52 of your bill goes to planning and development at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £3.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £5.56
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Planning applications (development management) £1.49
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Planning policy £0.47
Oxfordshire County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£38.23 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how Oxfordshire County Council's adult social care spending of £316.2m divided in 2025-26. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
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Learning disability support £17.47
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Physical support £4.69
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Care assessment and safeguarding £3.52
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Mental health support £2.67
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £2.33
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.90
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Information and early intervention £0.74
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.70
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Sensory support £0.22
Learning disability support
£17.47 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £144.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £16.08
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Aged 65 and over £1.39
Support with memory and cognition
£4.99 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £41.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £4.67
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.32
Physical support
£4.69 of your bill goes to physical support at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £38.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £2.37
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Aged 18 to 64 £2.32
Mental health support
£2.67 of your bill goes to mental health support at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £22.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £1.45
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Aged 65 and over £1.22
Sensory support
£0.22 of your bill goes to sensory support at Oxfordshire County Council. Here is how its £1.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £0.14
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.08
Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£298.28 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £715.9m divided in 2025-26. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Cherwell and Oxfordshire County Council spent, net of income, on the lines readers ask about most. Roads and street cleaning are also shown per mile of road the council looks after, where it is the highway authority. Gully cleaning and verge cutting are inside routine maintenance; no return splits them out.
| Line | Net spending | Per resident | Similar councils, per resident | Per mile of road | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parks and open spaces (including play areas)Details for Parks and open spaces (including play areas) | £1.0m | £5.86 | £13 | — | down 9.7% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £1.6m | £9.34 | £13 | — | down 12.7% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £5k | £0.03 | £0.70 | — | down 16.7% on 2024-25 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £5k | £0.03 | £0.68 | — | down 16.7% on 2024-25 |
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| Line | Net spending | Per resident | Similar councils, per resident | Per mile of road | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parks and open spaces (including play areas)Details for Parks and open spaces (including play areas) | £3.1m | £4.02 | £2.33 | — | up 5.1% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £26.1m | £34 | £22 | £8,977 (similar: £5,441) | down 1.1% on 2024-25 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £15.2m | £20 | £17 | £5,241 (similar: £4,193) | up 20.8% on 2024-25 |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £10.9m | £14 | £3.54 | £3,735 (similar: £894) | down 21.2% on 2024-25 |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £3.0m | £3.92 | £4.67 | £1,038 (similar: £985) | down 5.1% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £4.7m | £6.06 | £6.40 | £1,605 (similar: £1,408) | up 34.7% on 2024-25 |
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Miles of road: Department for Transport road lengths, 2025; locally managed major roads and all minor roads. More on what council tax does and doesn't pay for.
What it adds up to
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £57 | £56 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £49 | £41 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £48 | £24 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £28 | £23 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £23 | £22 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £0.11 | £-4.53 |
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- Cherwell spent 57.4% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for district councils in England: 39.3%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
EducationDetails for Education | £656 | £736 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £411 | £457 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £238 | £242 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £75 | £65 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £53 | £52 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £47 | £58 |
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Fire and rescueDetails for Fire and rescue | £45 | £48 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £23 | £21 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £19 | £16 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £4.65 | £2.98 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £4.10 | £5.56 |
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- Oxfordshire County Council spent 24.2% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for county councils: 28.8%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
What this data does and doesn't show
- These are each body's own figures, as reported to government in its revenue outturn return. Net spending is after the fees, charges and grants a service brings in.
- Your bill is for 2026-27; it is shared out using the latest published return, which covers an earlier year. The mix of spending changes little from one year to the next, but it does change.
- Council tax is not ring-fenced: this shows your bill in proportion to spending, not what your money bought. Where a precept is set aside for adult social care, it is shown against adult social care.
- No council publishes spending at street or property level, so nothing here says what was spent near you.
- Sub-service lines are the ones the national returns itemise. Councils describe their own budgets differently; their budget books and statements of accounts have more detail.
Sources
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England: Table 10, local authority level data, published 25 March 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: Revenue Outturn multi-year data set, published 28 September 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.
How the split is worked out, and how the three nations' returns are matched to one list of services, is on the methodology page. The dataset is on the data page. See also council tax in Cherwell and everything else about Cherwell.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Cherwell?
- A Band D bill of £2,582.96 is split between Cherwell, Oxfordshire County Council, Oxfordshire County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £752.32.
- Is council tax ring-fenced for particular services?
- No. Council tax is pooled with grants, business rates and fees. The adult social care precept is the exception: councils raise it for adult social care.
Sources for this page
| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | the 2026–27 financial year | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: Revenue Outturn multi-year data set | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 28 September 2026 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.