| Wherever you live or work you will be dealing with one single council in your local area. What we don’t know yet is whether there will be one council covering the whole of Oxfordshire or if the solution will be two or even three councils for the county.
There are three proposals on the table for consideration. The government will make the final decision but wants to hear what everyone thinks about them. |
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If you, or your organisation has been named as a statutory consultee, you will be made aware. We will be in touch about how you can engage with us and the consultation in the coming days. |
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Our preferred option is for one brand new single unitary council for the whole county – we believe it’s the right choice.
It is a once in a generation chance to do things differently and is better for you, your family, your communities and for the future of the county. |
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| With a brand new single unitary council |
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- One Oxfordshire will mean a financially resilient, cost‑effective unitary council that delivers clear value for money without the expensive and risky disaggregation of critical services that two or three councils will require. Those savings will be significant – £63m per year with net savings of £163m by year five that will be reinvested back into frontline priorities.
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- With one council, neighbourhood‑level health and care partnerships will be strengthened with earlier, more targeted interventions. The Oxfordshire Way, a now established countywide health and social care approach, as well as significant public health prevention community work is evidence that working on a county footprint strengthens support, particularly in the areas that need it most.
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- With one council, businesses will benefit from and be able to input into one clear vision for the county – on infrastructure, innovation and technology, skills, housing and growth. Innovate Oxfordshire, where public sector organisations and industry collaborate on cutting‑edge projects, is evidence of this. Innovate Oxfordshire is already delivering innovation and practical benefits at scale.
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- One Oxfordshire will strengthen and simplify partnership working, removing fragmentation and creating one front door for voluntary and community sector (VCS) engagement and funding. It will help partners work collaboratively with critical services across the county to deliver and improve joined‑up, preventative support.
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- One Oxfordshire will allow councils, developers and investors to unblock barriers and coordinate delivery. It will streamline a complicated process – bringing together planning and delivery – and give everyone the certainty, consistency and ambition to accelerate housing and infrastructure delivery across the county.
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- One Oxfordshire means joined‑up decision making and consistent countywide approaches that remove duplication and complexity. Existing projects like Community Wealth Building demonstrate the power of this, influencing work on progressive procurement and maximising the economic, social and environmental benefits that spending power brings.
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- One Oxfordshire will protect and keep critical services currently delivering at a county level together like adult social care and children’s services. This clarity benefits not just residents but also the partners who support them.
It means continued and earlier intervention, faster responses and fairer access to support wherever people live. |
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- With One Oxfordshire, residents and partners will have one clear front door for everything from social care and housing to planning, waste and community support. It will reduce confusion, save time and mean quicker, more consistent responses and a more streamlined, coordinated and customer‑focused experience across the whole county.
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- One Oxfordshire will unify planning, infrastructure and strategic investment under one council. It will give science, research and financial organisations the clarity, pace and scale they need to thrive, expanding Oxfordshire’s role as a national innovation powerhouse.
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- One Oxfordshire will bring decision-making and services closer to the people who rely on them most with a single set of councillors operating at the heart of their local areas. By creating strong neighbourhood governance and locally rooted area committees, the new council will work alongside community groups, town and parish councils, health partners and voluntary organisations to understand local priorities and act on them quickly.
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We’ve pulled together everything you need to know to help you understand the proposed changes.
Read about local government reorganisation and the timelines, take a look at all three proposals and find out how you can feedback on oneoxfordshire.org.uk
The closing date for the consultation is Thursday 26 March at 11.59pm. |
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