Who We Are and What We Do

What is the system of local government in Oxford?

Oxfordshire has a two-tier system of local government. This means that your council services are provided by two different councils. We (Oxford City Council) run services such as planning, leisure and waste collection, while Oxfordshire County Council is responsible for running services such as libraries, schools and social care.

Oxford City Council is a District Council and is the democratically-elected body for Oxford. In Oxfordshire, there is one county council (Oxfordshire County Council) and five district councils (Oxford City Council, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire).

Which area of Oxfordshire is Oxford City Council responsible for?

You can see a map of the boundaries of Oxford below:

Map of Oxford Boundaries (525kB PDF)

Visit the District Councils page of the Oxfordshire County Council website to find out which district council is responsible for your services if you do not live within the boundaries of Oxford city.

Which services are run by Oxford City Council and which are run by Oxfordshire County Council?

In partnership with others, we provide a wide range of services for approximately 149,000 residents, 108,000 people who work in Oxford, and 8.5 million people who visit the city every year. For a general list of how services in Oxford are split between Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council, please see the table below:

Oxford City Council	Oxfordshire County Council
Planning	Schools
Council Housing	Social Services
Homelessness	Older People
Houses in Multiple Occupation Licensing	Adult Learning
Council Tax Collection	Major Roads
Council Tax and Housing Benefits	Libraries
Business Rates (NNDR)	Children and Young People
Environmental Health	Fire Service
Licensing	Waste and Recycling Centres
Electoral Registration	Trading Standards
Refuse and Recycling Collection	Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages
Leisure services and parks	Street Lighting
Building Control	2 Park & Ride Sites
Minor Roads	Transport Planning
Community Cohesion	Residents' Parking Permits
Street Wardens and Park Rangers	On-street Parking
Markets and Fairs
Oxford Safer Communities Partnership
Tourism
Cemeteries
Car Parks
3 Park & Ride Sites
Concessionary Bus Passes
Community Centres
Area Committees
Street Cleansing


	Oxfordshire County Council website

Visit the Oxfordshire County Council website for more information about their services.

Where can I find out how Oxford City Council works?

Visit our How the Council Works page for details on this subject.

Page last reviewed 6 Nov 2008