Local government structure and service responsibilities

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.

We are a District Council and are 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).

Visit the GOV.UK website for more about how councils work.

Service responsibilities

In partnership with others, we provide a wide range of services for approximately 154,600 residents, 118,000 people who work in Oxford and 7 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:

Table showing service responsibilities for councils in Oxford
Oxford City Council Oxfordshire County Council
Planning Schools
Council housing Social services
Homelessness Concessionary bus passes
Houses in Multiple Occupation licensing Adult Learning
Housing options advice Major road maintenance
Council Tax collection Libraries
Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit Children and young people
Business Rates (NNDR) collection Fire service
Environmental health Waste recycling centres and waste disposal
Licensing Trading standards
Recycling and waste collection Registration of births, deaths and marriages
Leisure centres and facilities Street lighting
Building control Carers' support
Minor road maintenance Transport planning
Three Park and Ride Sites Two Park and Ride Sites
Street cleaning Residents' parking permits
Parks On-street parking
Community group grants Youth offending service
Community Response Team and Park Rangers Music service
Markets and fairs  
Oxford Safer Communities Partnership  
Anti-social Behaviour  
Electoral registration  
Cemeteries  
Car parks  
Community centres  
Public toilets  
Street furniture  

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