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Oldham: your area

Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.

Oldham sets a Band D council tax of £2,602 for 2026-27, 32 of 296 councils in England from the highest. Police: Greater Manchester. Fire and rescue: Greater Manchester. Health: NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board. This page links to everything the site holds on the area; the full bill, the report card and parking each have a page of their own.

Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Key figures

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

What is the council tax in Oldham?

Band D is £2,602 a year for 2026-27, and Band A, the lowest, £1,735. That is £191 above the England average of £2,411, 32 of 296 in England from the highest.

Of a Band D bill, £2,156 goes to Oldham.

How does the council compare?

  • Council tax rise this year5.8%Higher than the England figure of 4.9%
  • Council tax per head£619Lower than the England figure of £796
  • Ombudsman uphold rate100% (6 of 6)Higher than the England figure of 86%
  • Reserves as a share of net spending25%Lower than the England figure of 50%
  • Borrowing per home£2,572Lower than the England figure of £3,474
  • Accounts, 2024-25Delivered by backstop92% of bodies had an opinion delivered by the backstop date
  • Ofsted, children's servicesGood73% of English councils are good or outstanding
  • CQC, adult social careGood62% of assessed councils are good or outstanding
  • A roads needing maintenance considered4%Lower than the England figure of 5%
  • Recycling rate43.0%Higher than the England figure of 42.0%
  • Major planning decisions on time97.6%Higher than the England figure of 91.0%

Each figure is set against the figure for England as a whole. They are plain comparisons, one measure at a time: there is no overall score and no ranking of councils. Higher is not always better or worse; what each measure does and does not show is on the methodology page.

Roads, bins and planning

Roads, recycling and planning in Oldham
MeasureFigurePeriod
A roads where maintenance should be considered
Details for A roads where maintenance should be considered
4%2024-25
Period
2024-25
B and C roads where maintenance should be considered
Details for B and C roads where maintenance should be considered
2%2024-25
Period
2024-25
Unclassified roads where maintenance should be considered
Details for Unclassified roads where maintenance should be considered
9%2024-25
Period
2024-25
Household waste reused, recycled or composted
Details for Household waste reused, recycled or composted
43.0%2024-25
Period
2024-25
Major planning decisions made on time
Details for Major planning decisions made on time
97.6%24 months to end of June 2026
Period
24 months to end of June 2026

Road condition is from the Department for Transport; each figure is compared with England as a whole in the report card.

What does the council make from parking?

Parking income and surplus for Oldham
AuthorityYearIncomeSurplus
Oldham
Details for Oldham
2025-26£2.5m£704,000
Year
2025-26
Surplus
£704,000

What the law lets a council spend a parking surplus on is on parking fines and council parking income.

Who is your MP?

A council area can span several constituencies, so your MP depends on your address. Enter your postcode in the box at the top of this page to see your MP and what their office cost, find any MP by name or constituency, or see every constituency and its MP on the MP map.

How much crime is recorded here?

This force supplied no records to police.uk for this period, so there are no figures for the areas inside it. Greater Manchester Police has supplied none since 2019; its force-wide crime figures are from the Home Office.

Across the whole of Greater Manchester police force area, the Home Office’s recorded crime figures for the twelve months to March 2026 come to 103.7 crimes per 1,000 residents.

Your police precept

A Band D home in Oldham pays £285.30 police precept in 2026-27. It funds Greater Manchester, which has £911m in all for 2026-27. The precept is set once for the whole force area and spent across the whole force area, so the crime figures above for Oldham are not what its precept bought.

Who runs police, fire, health and ambulances here?

The bodies that serve Oldham, and their latest money
ServiceBodyLatestPer resident
Police
Details for Police
Greater Manchester£911m (2026-27)£302
Latest
£911m (2026-27)
Per resident
£302
Fire and rescue
Details for Fire and rescue
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service£151m (2025-26)£50.08
Latest
£151m (2025-26)
Per resident
£50.08
Ambulance
Details for Ambulance
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust£553m (2024-25)£71.67
Latest
£553m (2024-25)
Per resident
£71.67
NHS
Details for NHS
NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board£10.0bn (2028-29)£3,301
Latest
£10.0bn (2028-29)
Per resident
£3,301
Roads
Details for Roads
Oldham£8m (2025-26)£30.57
Latest
£8m (2025-26)
Per resident
£30.57
Schools
Details for Schools
Oldham£290m (2026-27)£1,149
Latest
£290m (2026-27)
Per resident
£1,149
Council spending
Details for Council spending
Oldham£495m (2025-26)£1,964
Latest
£495m (2025-26)
Per resident
£1,964
Social care
Details for Social care
Oldham£222m (2024-25)£884
Latest
£222m (2024-25)
Per resident
£884
Housing
Details for Housing
Oldham£12m (2025-26)£48.35
Latest
£12m (2025-26)
Per resident
£48.35
Waste and recycling
Details for Waste and recycling
Oldhamnot published—
Latest
not published
Per resident
—

Each body serves a wider area than Oldham, and its money is for the whole of that area. Its page has its funding over time and what is recorded alongside it; public services near you looks them up for any postcode. Water is not covered yet: see Discover Water.

Which bodies cover Oldham: ONS lookups of local authorities to police force areas, fire and rescue authorities, integrated care boards and local health boards (Open Government Licence v3.0); where an area is split between integrated care boards, the one covering most residents is named.

How does Oldham look against other councils?

See Oldham on the council map, alongside every other council on council tax, complaints, reserves, audit and inspections, or browse every council.

Common questions

How much is council tax in Oldham?
Band D is £2,602 a year for 2026-27. Every band.
Which police force covers Oldham?
Greater Manchester police force area. Fire and rescue: Greater Manchester.

Sources for this page

SourcePublisherFigures as ofUpdatedLicence
Council Tax levels set by local authorities in EnglandMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Governmentthe 2026–27 financial yearannualOpen Government Licence v3.0
Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: revenue outturn multi-year data set (RO2 parking)Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Governmentthe 2025–26 financial yearannualOpen 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.

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