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Overview

South East · Non-metropolitan district

South Oxfordshire

2026/27 view

South Oxfordshire · ONS E07000179

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

91/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Strong

Compared only with non-metropolitan district councils using central government returns.

164 councils in peer group Rank 2 of 164 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover99
Debt burden99
Debt direction57
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-176.45m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£10.10m 6.1%
Service expenditure £25.64m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£2.74m 12.0%
Unallocated reserves £49.98m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£1.19m 2.3%
FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL TREND

How this council's finances have changed

Official annual outturn. Each line uses its own scale so direction remains easy to read.

Through 2024/25
Service expenditure £25.64m
40.8%
2020/21: £18.21m 2021/22: £21.69m 2022/23: £18.03m 2023/24: £22.90m 2024/25: £25.64m
Net revenue expenditure £18.55m
3.6%
2020/21: £17.91m 2021/22: £20.76m 2022/23: £18.96m 2023/24: £12.92m 2024/25: £18.55m
Council Tax requirement £16.72m
30.3%
2020/21: £12.83m 2021/22: £13.65m 2022/23: £14.50m 2023/24: £15.33m 2024/25: £16.72m
Unallocated reserves £49.98m
16.1%
2020/21: £59.55m 2021/22: £59.55m 2022/23: £65.47m 2023/24: £51.17m 2024/25: £49.98m
COUNCILMETRICS COMMUNITY SCORE Share your experience 0 of 25 responses collected before results are published
Score this council
Political controlNot yet recordedAdministration not identified
Council leaderNot identifiedParty not identified
Resident population156,4702024 estimate
Latest net debt£-176.45m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for South Oxfordshire, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25
61.3%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

1.6 percentage points vs 2023/24
2 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste310.1 kgper household+5.3 kg year on year
Waste collected342.4 kgper resident−11.7 kg year on year
Household waste53,844tonnes collected33,005 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

33,005 t recycled, composted or reused 20,838 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

61.3%
2015/16: 66.6%2016/17: 63.8%2017/18: 63.0%2018/19: 63.3%2019/20: 64.0%2020/21: 63.6%2021/22: 62.7%2022/23: 61.6%2023/24: 62.9%2024/25: 61.3%
2015/162024/25
Official Defra waste statistics · Annual local-authority return · Figures may not sum exactly because of published rounding.View source
EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across South Oxfordshire.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
85 Open schools
25,829 Pupils
29,590 School places
87.3% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in South Oxfordshire.

Attainment 8
50.4
South East 47.0
England 46.1
4.3 points above England
English & maths grade 5+
55.6%
South East 47.9%
England 45.4%
10.2 percentage points above England
EBacc entry
42.5%
South East 41.6%
England 40.5%
2.0 percentage points above England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.32

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

50.3 18/19
52.9 19/20
53.3 20/21
52.8 21/22
49.7 22/23
50.1 23/24
50.4 24/25
Education context

South Oxfordshire's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are above both South East and England benchmarks across all three headline measures.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency
HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

House prices and affordability for South Oxfordshire, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£450,000
+ 13.9% over five years
Median resident earnings
£48,525
+ 25.7% over five years
House price to earnings
9.27×
Improved from 10.23× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in South Oxfordshire.

£1,392 / month
+ 2.0% in the last year
July 2026
South Oxfordshire
£1,392
+ 2.0%
South East
£1,419
+ 2.9%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South East £27 less per month
Compared with England £59 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

Median house price as a multiple of median resident earnings. Lower is more affordable.

South Oxfordshire
9.27×
South East
9.20×
England
7.64×
Compared with South East Less affordable
Compared with England Less affordable
Source: Office for National Statistics · Housing affordability in England and Wales · House prices year ending September · Residence-based earnings
PLANNING & HOUSING DELIVERY

Is development moving through the system?

Quarterly planning decisions and the government's latest three-year Housing Delivery Test.

2026 Q1
Applications received360this quarter−19 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided360this quarter−34 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
92.5%approved
Overall approval rate333 granted27 refused−0.4 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

91.4%
Rank 171 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

1.8 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major1450.0%92.9% Minor7684.2%84.2% Other27097.0%93.3%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 4282024 Q3: 3952024 Q4: 3942025 Q1: 4422025 Q2: 3432025 Q3: 3982025 Q4: 3792026 Q1: 3602024 Q2: 3842024 Q3: 3402024 Q4: 3562025 Q1: 3532025 Q2: 3682025 Q3: 4072025 Q4: 3942026 Q1: 360
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

171%
Required1,825homes over three years
Delivered3,115homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for South Oxfordshire, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 6,359 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 40.6 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 1.8% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
South Oxfordshire Your council
40.6 − 1.8%
South East Region
70.5 − 2.7%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

South Oxfordshire has a recorded crime rate 42.3% below South East. It is 51.3% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Thames Valley
Violence 2,560
16.4 per 1,000 + 1.7%
Theft 1,808
11.6 per 1,000 − 7.3%
Public order 603
3.9 per 1,000 + 7.7%
Criminal damage 610
3.9 per 1,000 − 3.3%
Shoplifting 543
3.5 per 1,000 − 1.6%
Vehicle offences 337
2.2 per 1,000 − 18.4%
Burglary 289
1.8 per 1,000 + 4.7%
Drug offences 207
1.3 per 1,000 − 17.5%
ONS / Home Office · Police-recorded crime · Community Safety Partnership data
SCHOOLS & OFSTED

Schools and inspection outcomes

Open schools, pupil numbers and the latest published Ofsted inspection position for South Oxfordshire.

85 schools
Open schools 85
Pupils 25,829
School places 29,590
Capacity used 87.3%
Primary 57 schools
11,240 pupils
Other / specialist 15 schools
2,811 pupils
Secondary 9 schools
10,520 pupils
Nursery 2 schools
112 pupils
16+ provision 1 school
0 pupils
All-through 1 school
1,146 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 7
8.2% of open schools
Previous full framework 33
38.8% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 27
31.8% of open schools
No Ofsted record 13
15.3% of open schools
No published outcome 5
5.9% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

7 schools assessed
Achievement 7 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Attendance & behaviour 7 assessed
Strong standard 4
Expected standard 2
Needs attention 1
Curriculum & teaching 7 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Inclusion 7 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 2
Leadership & governance 7 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 2
Personal development 7 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 2
Safeguarding 7 assessed
Met 7
PREVIOUS FRAMEWORK

Legacy Ofsted ratings

These ratings apply only to schools whose latest full inspection remains under the previous Ofsted framework. Schools assessed under the renewed framework are shown separately above.

Outstanding 2
Good 20
Requires improvement 2
Inadequate 1
Not judged 8
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Abbey Woods Academy URN 139709 · OX10 7LZ Primary 138 280 Good
All Saints Church of England Primary School URN 150190 · OX11 7QH Primary 421 420 No published outcome
Aston Rowant Church of England Primary School URN 123124 · OX49 5SU Primary 99 105 Ungraded inspection
Aureus Primary School URN 140652 · OX11 6GS Primary 450 446 Outstanding
Badgemore Primary School URN 150741 · RG9 2HL Primary 124 210 No published outcome
Barley Hill Primary School URN 123034 · OX9 3DH Primary 482 630 Ungraded inspection
Beckley Church of England Primary School URN 146939 · OX3 9UT Primary 66 157 Good
Benson Church of England Primary School URN 147507 · OX10 6LX Primary 329 315 Not judged
School information: Get Information about Schools (GIAS). Inspection information: Ofsted monthly management information. Inspection frameworks differ over time, so renewed-framework standards and previous overall effectiveness grades are shown separately.
Published expenditure£0.00No spending file imported
Revenue budget£0.00Not imported
Reported overspend£0.00Not imported outturn
Contracts00 active
Identified suppliers0Normalised entities
PEOPLE AND PLACE

Population snapshot

View full People profile
Population 156,470 2024
South East region 9,642,942
South Oxfordshire represents 1.62% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+11,595 residents ↑ 8.0%
2019: 144,875 residents2020: 146,844 residents2021: 150,002 residents2022: 151,886 residents2023: 153,946 residents2024: 156,470 residents
South Oxfordshire +8.0%
South East +4.9%
England +4.3%
Growth context

South Oxfordshire's population grew over five years. Its change was 3.1 percentage points above the South East and 3.8 percentage points above England.

2019–2024 ONS mid-year estimates
Population estimates and labour-market measures from ONS/Nomis.Official profile
BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in South Oxfordshire?

People receiving Universal Credit and how the caseload has changed over the latest 24 months.

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 9,517 6.1% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +6.3% +564 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.4% +39 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
South Oxfordshire LOCAL AUTHORITY
6.1%
South East REGION
9.5%
England COUNTRY
12.3%
Percentage of the resident population receiving Universal Credit. This is not an unemployment rate.
24-MONTH TREND

People receiving Universal Credit

Monthly caseload recorded on the DWP Universal Credit system.

June 2024 May 2026
9,517 8,754 7,990
June 2024 May 2026
What does this measure?

Universal Credit provides financial support to people who are on a low income or out of work. These figures count people receiving Universal Credit, not households and not the number of people who are unemployed.

DWP Stat-Xplore
HOUSING LICENSING

HMOs and property licensing

Coverage not assessedNational HMO explorer
Licensed HMOsAwaiting registerOnly licensed properties will be counted
Register accessNot assessedNo register record available
Identifiable HMO expenditureNot identifiableNot separately described in published transactions
Inspection and enforcement dataAwaiting dataNo activity source imported yet
Coverage note

A licensed HMO register has not yet been located for this council. CouncilMetrics does not estimate HMO expenditure from broad housing or social-care descriptions.

FINANCE

How this council raises and spends money

Comparable official outturn for 2024/25, reported to central government.

MHCLG official outturn
Total service expenditure
£25.64m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£18.55m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£16.72m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£49.98m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £164
Median for councils of the same type £166 1.0% below peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Central services Gross £31.00m · Income £19.20m
£11.81m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £12.74m · Income £4.40m
£8.34m
Planning and development Gross £8.07m · Income £5.35m
£2.72m
Culture and related services Gross £4.51m · Income £2.34m
£2.17m
Housing Gross £3.00m · Income £1.66m
£1.35m
Highways and transport Gross £811.0k · Income £1.56m
£-744.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£16.72m
Retained business rates£3.88m
Revenue Support Grant£123.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £47.57m
Closing £49.98m
£2.41m increase during 2024/25
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · Revenue Outturn RS and RSX · values shown in pounds Official dataset
BORROWING AND INVESTMENTS

Balance-sheet position

A point-in-time view of debt and liquid investments at the end of 2026/27 Q1.

MHCLG quarterly return
Outstanding borrowing
£0.00 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£176.45m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-176.45m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-1,128 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-1,128
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 1,284.4% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£10.10m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£10.10m −6.1%
Change across the series −£14.33m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1
What changed?

Net debt reduced during the latest quarter as the balance between borrowing and investments improved.

MHCLG Borrowing and Investment live table · 2026/27 Q1 · values shown in pounds Official dataset
COUNCIL TAX & COLLECTION

How much council tax remains unpaid?

Council tax collection, outstanding arrears and write-offs reported to central government.

MHCLG 2025/26
Outstanding arrears
£15.44m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
97.66% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£137,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£158.05m Receipts relating to the financial year
FIVE-YEAR TREND

How has unpaid council tax changed?

Outstanding arrears at each financial year-end.

2021/22–2025/26
OUTSTANDING ARREARS 2025/26
£15.44m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 44.5%
+ £4.75m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£10.69m 2021/22 £11.26m 2022/23 £12.39m 2023/24 £13.81m 2024/25 £15.44m 2025/26

Figures represent total outstanding council tax balances, including arrears carried forward from earlier years. Changes in council boundaries can affect historical comparisons.

OUTSTANDING ARREARS

Where does the unpaid council tax come from?

Breakdown of outstanding balances at the end of 2025/26.

£15.44m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £3.88m

25.2% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £11.55m

74.8% of outstanding arrears

Current-year arrears Earlier-years arrears

Earlier-years arrears represent unpaid council tax carried forward from previous financial years. These figures do not identify individual households or establish whether balances are recoverable.

COLLECTION PERFORMANCE

How does this council compare?

England 2025/26
In-year collection rate 97.66%

England average: 95.60%  ·  2.06 percentage points above England

Outstanding arrears include unpaid balances from earlier financial years and are not the same as council tax uncollected during 2025/26. Monetary values are rounded for display. Official MHCLG source

SPENDING

Published directorate expenditure

Explore all 0 records
CONTRACTS

Largest contracts

Explore all 0 contracts
ContractSupplierStatusEnd dateOriginal value
SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions
SupplierPaymentsPublished expenditure
PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported
DocumentDatasetPeriodStatusOfficial source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — South Oxfordshiremhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — South Oxfordshiremhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — South Oxfordshiremhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — South Oxfordshire District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — South Oxfordshiremhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — South Oxfordshiremhclg revenue outturn rs2024/25importedOpen
How to read these figures and the Financial Health Score

Budget summaries and financial positions retain the reporting year and assurance status of their original source. Draft or unaudited values are labelled separately from audited outturn figures. The Financial Health Score uses reserves cover, net debt per resident, liquidity and quarterly debt direction from central MHCLG returns. Each component is converted to a percentile among councils of the same authority type; available components are weighted 35%, 30%, 20% and 15% respectively. A score is published only when at least three components covering 65% of the weighting are available. It is a comparative financial indicator, not an assessment of service quality or political performance.