How the Council Works

Oxford City Council is a District Council, with responsibilities for running services such as local planning, housing, environmental health, electoral registration, refuse collection, leisure and parks services, markets and fairs, tourism and cemeteries. Visit our Who We are and What We Do page for further details on the two-tier system of local government in Oxford.

City Councillors

Oxford City Council is composed of 48 Councillors, representing 24 Wards (two Councillors for each Ward), with half elected two years in four. Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their Ward. The overriding duty of Councillors is to the whole community, but they have a special duty to their constituents, including those who did not vote for them. To find out who your councillors are and what wards all councillors represent, visit our Councillors page.

Current Political Make-up

Oxford City Council's current political make-up is as follow:

The Labour Group currently run the administration at Oxford City Council.

The Decision-making process

Oxford City Council has a constitution which sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made, and the procedures which are followed, to ensure that these are efficient, transparent and accountable to local people. Visit our Constitution page to view our constitution online.

The decision-making structure has four key elements, as shown below:

1. Six Area Committees - These have some devolved powers and budgets.
2. The City Executive Board - A cabinet of councillors and a leader who will provide clear and accountable leadership.
3. Full Council - Decides on policies, budgets and elects the executive.
4. Overview and Scrutiny committees - These examine and review decision-making at all levels.

Page last reviewed 13 Jun 2008