In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in Oxford
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Oxford is £2,678.40 for 2026-27, split between Oxford £367.38, 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) £5.96. 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
- £2,678.40Band D bill, 2026-27
- £367.38Goes to Oxford itself (14%)
- £752.32Largest line: adult social care
- 11.5%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: £2,678.40
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Oxford £367.38
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Oxfordshire County Council £1,968.55
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Parish and town councils (average for the area) £5.96
Oxford
£367.38 of your bill goes to Oxford. It is shared out below in proportion to how Oxford spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Environment and regulation £123.25
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Housing (not council homes) £73.86
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Running the council £61.92
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Planning and development £51.32
Roads and transport brought in £4.4m more than it cost in 2025-26, so it takes no share of your bill.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 district councils in England closest in population: Braintree, Preston, Wealden, Mid Sussex, Canterbury, Dacorum, Swale, Cherwell, Arun, East Devon. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Environment and regulation
£123.25 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Oxford. Here is how its £19.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Street cleaning £47.75
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Waste collection £41.98
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £13.98
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Community safety and CCTV £13.40
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Other environmental services £5.81
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.20
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Cemeteries and crematoria £0.13
Named suppliers
In Oxford's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to environment and regulation came to £3.2m across 950 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- OXFORD DIRECT SERVICES LTD - (QL ONLY): £521k (183 payments)
- NKS CONTRACTS CENTRAL LTD: £513k (75 payments)
- REED SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT LTD: £293k (18 payments)
- BUCKINGHAM FUTURES LTD: £227k (92 payments)
- OXFORD DIRECT SERVICES LTD: £132k (37 payments)
Housing (not council homes)
£73.86 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Oxford. Here is how its £11.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £62.45
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £7.52
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £3.88
Named suppliers
In Oxford's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to housing (not council homes) came to £16.5m across 1,877 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL: £2.6m (15 payments)
- Names withheld by the council: £1.7m (464 payments)
- BROWNE JACOBSON LLP: £1.0m (1 payment)
- FUSION LETS LIMITED: £1.0m (201 payments)
- CONNECTION SUPPORT: £924k (22 payments)
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. Oxford's Housing Revenue Account took in £60.7m and spent £62.9m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Running the council
£61.92 of your bill goes to running the council at Oxford. Here is how its £9.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £33.40
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Collecting council tax and business rates £25.38
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Elections and electoral registration £1.99
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £0.75
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Emergency planning £0.40
Named suppliers
In Oxford's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to running the council came to £17.8m across 3,185 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- OXFORD DIRECT SERVICES LTD - (QL ONLY): £1.9m (391 payments)
- MARICK REAL ESTATE LTD: £1.9m (1 payment)
- SHARED SERVICES CONNECTED LTD: £1.7m (1 payment)
- GRAHAM ROSE LTD: £1.2m (514 payments)
- HAYS SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT LTD: £932k (540 payments)
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£57.03 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Oxford. Here is how its £8.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £29.96
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Sport and leisure £13.41
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £8.77
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Community centres and public halls £4.77
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Tourism £0.12
Named suppliers
In Oxford's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to parks, leisure, libraries and culture came to £609k across 136 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- OXFORD DIRECT SERVICES LTD: £360k (32 payments)
- OXFORD DIRECT SERVICES LTD - (QL ONLY): £238k (100 payments)
- OXFORD AND DISTRICT FEDERATION OF ALLOTMENT ASSOCIATIONS: £8k (2 payments)
- OCC ST BARNABAS CE (AIDED) PRIMARY: £3k (2 payments)
Planning and development
£51.32 of your bill goes to planning and development at Oxford. Here is how its £8.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £29.08
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Community development £12.33
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Environmental initiatives £4.67
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Building control £2.71
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Planning applications (development management) £2.52
Named suppliers
In Oxford's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to planning and development came to £4.1m across 457 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- PEABODY TRUST: £861k (5 payments)
- BALFOUR BEATTY CIVIL ENGINEERING LTD: £496k (12 payments)
- OXFORD DIRECT SERVICES LTD - (QL ONLY): £432k (8 payments)
- OXFORD DIRECT SERVICES LTD: £303k (28 payments)
- HAYS SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT LTD: £188k (88 payments)
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 Oxford 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) | £4.7m | £28 | £14 | — | up 18.0% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £7.6m | £46 | £14 | — | up 18.5% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £154k | £0.93 | £0.12 | — | — |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £154k | £0.93 | £0.04 | — | — |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £19k | £0.11 | £0.14 | — | — |
| |||||
| 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 | £116 | £56 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £70 | £24 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £58 | £41 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £54 | £23 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £48 | £22 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £-26.73 | £-4.18 |
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- Oxford spent 45.4% 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.
- Its published payments of £500 or more came to £158.0m between 2025-07 and 2026-06. These include capital and council housing spending, so they are not a share of the figures above.
- Payments we classify as consultancy and agency staff came to 13.0% of its staff costs (median among the 4 other district councils in England whose £500 data is read: 14.9%). The two come from different sources and periods, so this is a guide to scale, not an exact share.
| 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 Oxford and everything else about Oxford.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Oxford?
- A Band D bill of £2,678.40 is split between Oxford, 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.