South East · Non-metropolitan district

West Oxfordshire

2026/27 view

West Oxfordshire · ONS E07000181

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

88/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Strong

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 7 of 164 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover90

Debt burden84

Debt direction90

YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.

Net debt £-45.59m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

−£11.48m 33.6%

Service expenditure £15.93m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£77.0k 0.5%

Unallocated reserves £12.26m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£6.0k 0.0%

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 £15.93m

32.6%

Net revenue expenditure £15.21m

30.6%

Council Tax requirement £11.03m

29.0%

Unallocated reserves £12.26m

46.9%

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 population120,9412024 estimate

Latest net debt£-45.59m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

57.0%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.2 percentage points vs 2023/24

16 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste342.0 kgper household−2.7 kg year on year

Waste collected355.5 kgper resident−6.2 kg year on year

Household waste42,992tonnes collected24,527 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

24,527 t recycled, composted or reused 18,465 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

57.0%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

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

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

65 Open schools

18,635 Pupils

21,578 School places

86.4% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in West Oxfordshire.

Attainment 8

48.4

South East 47.0

England 46.1

2.3 points above England

English & maths grade 5+

51.3%

South East 47.9%

England 45.4%

5.9 percentage points above England

EBacc entry

29.2%

South East 41.6%

England 40.5%

11.3 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.02

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

47.7 18/19

50.7 19/20

51.5 20/21

50.1 21/22

48.7 22/23

46.0 23/24

48.4 24/25

Education context

West Oxfordshire's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with South East and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency

HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025

Median house price

£395,000

+ 12.9% over five years

Median resident earnings

£43,932

+ 31.0% over five years

House price to earnings

8.99×

Improved from 10.44× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

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

£1,293 / month

+ 0.0% in the last year

July 2026

West Oxfordshire

£1,293

+ 0.0%

South East

£1,419

+ 2.9%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with South East £126 less per month

Compared with England £158 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

West Oxfordshire

8.99×

South East

9.20×

England

7.64×

Compared with South East More 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 received295this quarter+28 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided272this quarter−4 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

95.2%approved

Overall approval rate259 granted13 refused+1.4 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

96.0%

Rank 79 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

1.5 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major1283.3%100.0% Minor6291.9%90.3% Other19897.0%97.5%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

104%

Required1,701homes over three years

Delivered1,771homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 5,173 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 42.8 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change + 2.8% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

West Oxfordshire Your council

42.8 + 2.8%

South East Region

70.5 − 2.7%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

West Oxfordshire has a recorded crime rate 39.3% below South East. It is 48.7% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Thames Valley

Violence 2,282

18.9 per 1,000 + 7.1%

Theft 1,406

11.6 per 1,000 − 2.9%

Public order 457

3.8 per 1,000 + 8.0%

Criminal damage 443

3.7 per 1,000 − 1.8%

Shoplifting 391

3.2 per 1,000 + 1.0%

Vehicle offences 277

2.3 per 1,000 − 27.9%

Burglary 273

2.3 per 1,000 + 21.3%

Drug offences 179

1.5 per 1,000 + 5.9%

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 West Oxfordshire.

65 schools

Open schools 65

Pupils 18,635

School places 21,578

Capacity used 86.4%

Primary 49 schools

8,817 pupils

Other / specialist 9 schools

1,717 pupils

Secondary 7 schools

8,101 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 1

1.5% of open schools

Previous full framework 35

53.8% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 22

33.8% of open schools

No Ofsted record 7

10.8% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

1 schools assessed

Achievement 1 assessed

Urgent improvement 1

Attendance & behaviour 1 assessed

Urgent improvement 1

Curriculum & teaching 1 assessed

Urgent improvement 1

Inclusion 1 assessed

Needs attention 1

Leadership & governance 1 assessed

Needs attention 1

Personal development 1 assessed

Needs attention 1

Safeguarding 1 assessed

Met 1

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 3

Good 23

Requires improvement 1

Not judged 8

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Aston and Cote Church of England Primary School URN 123106 · OX18 2DU	Primary	199	189	Ungraded inspection
Bampton CofE Primary School URN 142140 · OX18 2NJ	Primary	189	210	Good
Bladon Church of England Primary School URN 123119 · OX20 1RW	Primary	102	98	Ungraded inspection
Brize Norton Primary School URN 142645 · OX18 3PL	Primary	132	140	Good
Burford Primary School URN 142341 · OX18 4SG	Primary	144	150	Good
Carterton Primary School URN 150512 · OX18 3AD	Primary	225	315	Requires improvement
Chadlington Church of England Primary School URN 123096 · OX7 3LY	Primary	91	105	Ungraded inspection
Charlbury Primary School URN 147640 · OX7 3TX	Primary	160	210	Good

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 120,941 2024

South East region 9,642,942

Five-year population change

+9,579 residents ↑ 8.6%

West Oxfordshire +8.6%

South East +4.9%

England +4.3%

Growth context

West Oxfordshire's population grew over five years. Its change was 3.7 percentage points above the South East and 4.4 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 West Oxfordshire?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 8,336 6.9% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +7.4% +572 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.7% +59 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

West Oxfordshire LOCAL AUTHORITY

6.9%

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

8,336 7,714 7,092

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

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

£15.93m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£15.21m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£11.03m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£12.26m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £132

Median for councils of the same type £166 20.4% below peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £12.37m · Income £4.31m

£8.07m

Central services Gross £11.45m · Income £5.12m

£6.33m

Planning and development Gross £4.66m · Income £3.05m

£1.61m

Housing Gross £4.02m · Income £3.47m

£552.0k

Highways and transport Gross £398.0k · Income £152.0k

£246.0k

Culture and related services Gross £2.04m · Income £2.91m

£-868.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£11.03m

Retained business rates£5.34m

Revenue Support Grant£230.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £12.25m

Closing £12.26m

£6.0k 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

£45.59m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£-45.59m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£-377 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £-377

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 495.9% lower than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£11.48m quarterly reduction

2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1

Latest quarterly movement −£11.48m −33.6%

Change across the series −£11.77m 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

£8.60m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

97.89% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£336,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£118.93m 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

£8.60m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 18.3%

+ £1.33m

ENGLAND CHANGE

+49.5%

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.

£8.60m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.56m

29.8% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £6.03m

70.2% 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 97.89%

England average: 95.60% · 2.29 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

Contract	Supplier	Status	End date	Original value

SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions

Supplier	Payments	Published expenditure

PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported

Document	Dataset	Period	Status	Official source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — West Oxfordshire	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — West Oxfordshire	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — West Oxfordshire	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — West Oxfordshire District Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — West Oxfordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2024/25	imported	Open

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.