23-609: Oxfordshire County Council may be: Oxfordshire County Council Oxford County Council (Maine) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Oxford County Council . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oxford_County_Council&oldid=933033969 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
46-620: A gross expenditure budget of £856.2 million in 2021–22. County councils were first introduced in England and Wales in 1889 as a result of the Local Government Act 1888 , taking over administrative functions until then carried out by the unelected quarter sessions . The areas they covered were termed administrative counties and were not in all cases identical to the traditional shire counties . The first elections were held in January 1889. At
69-413: A group. The next election is due in 2025. Since 1889, members have been elected for a term of office, with elections held all together (initially every three years, later every four years) by the "first past the post" system. Until the 1970s, the elected members chose aldermen , whose term of office was for six years, and who once appointed were also voting members of the council. This form of membership
92-494: A large extension was added to the 1841 County Hall, bringing the council's main offices and meeting place onto the same site. In 2021, the Liberal Democrat/Green/Labour administration moved a motion at Full Council to serve only plant-based ( vegan ) meals at all council-catered events and meetings, and vegan school meals in primary schools two days a week as part of its climate change action policy. The move
115-576: A two-tier arrangement. Non-metropolitan districts with borough status are known as boroughs , able to appoint a mayor and refer to itself as a borough council. Some shire counties now have no sub divisions so are a single Non-metropolitan district such as Cornwall. Typically a district will consist of a market town and its more rural hinterland. However districts are diverse with some being mostly urban such as Dartford, and others more polycentric such as Thurrock. Non-metropolitan districts are subdivisions of English non-metropolitan counties which have
138-461: A two-tier structure of local government. Two-tier non-metropolitan counties have a county council and several districts, each with a borough or district council. In these cases local government functions are divided between county and district councils, to the level where they can be practised most efficiently: Many districts have borough status , which means the local council is called a borough council instead of district council and gives them
161-588: A week. In November 2022, the Conservatives unsuccessfully sought to cancel vegan meals at council-catered events, which cost £6,000 annually and are purchased from a Kidlington business which sources food from Woodstock. Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts , or colloquially " shire districts ", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially shire counties ) in
184-486: Is based at County Hall on New Road in Oxford. The old part of the building was a courthouse built in 1841, which had served as the meeting place of the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. In 1912 a new building called County Offices was built at the corner of New Road and Tidmarsh Lane to provide the council's offices; meetings continued to be held at County Hall. The County Offices were replaced in 1973 when
207-461: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority ) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England . Established in 1889, it is an elected body responsible for most strategic local government services in
230-607: The 2021 election . Following that election a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Greens formed to run the council, led by Liberal Democrat councillor Liz Leffman. Labour withdrew from the coalition in September 2023, since when a Liberal Democrat–Green Party alliance has been running the council as a minority administration. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: The leaders of
253-584: The District Councils' Network , special interest group which sits within the Local Government Association . The network's purpose is to "act as an informed and representative advocate for districts to government and other national bodies, based on their unique position to deliver for local people." This is a list of two-tier non-metropolitan counties and their districts. All unitary authorities are also non-metropolitan districts, which, with
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#1732872392891276-508: The County Council's responsibilities in 1902, and until the 1990s it was also responsible for operating Colleges of Further Education. Oxfordshire County Council has seen a changing pattern of lower-tier authorities existing alongside it within its area, responsible for more local services, such as housing and waste collection. Until 1974, the county had a large number of urban district and rural district councils. In 1974, local government
299-449: The areas for Wales and England had been enacted separately and there were no Welsh metropolitan areas, the term 'non-metropolitan district' does not apply to Wales. A similar system existed in Scotland , which in 1975 was divided into regions and districts, this was also abolished in 1996 and replaced with a fully unitary system . In England most of the district councils are represented by
322-481: The council since 2001 have been: Following the 2021 election and by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was: One of the independent councillors sits in a group with the Conservatives. Two of the independents and the Henley Residents Group councillor sit together as the 'Independent Voice of Oxfordshire' group. The other three independents are not aligned to
345-466: The county. Oxfordshire County Council provides a wide range of services, including education (schools, libraries and youth services), social services , public health , highway maintenance, waste disposal, emergency planning, consumer protection and town and country planning for matters to do with minerals, waste, highways and education. This makes it one of the largest employers in Oxfordshire, with
368-487: The exception of those of Berkshire , are coterminous with non-metropolitan counties. For a full list of districts of all types including unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and London boroughs , see Districts of England . This is a list of former two-tier districts in England which have been abolished, by local government reorganisations such as the 2009 structural changes to local government in England . It does not include districts that still exist after becoming
391-412: The first meeting, several aldermen were elected. The council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1889. The city of Oxford was initially included in the administrative county, but seven months later, on 9 November 1889, the city become a county borough , making it independent from the county council and removing it from the administrative county. Schools (both primary and secondary) were added to
414-565: The right to appoint a mayor . Borough status is granted by royal charter and, in many cases, continues a style enjoyed by a predecessor authority, which can date back centuries. Some districts such as Oxford or Exeter have city status , granted by letters patent , but this does not give the local council any extra powers other than the right to call itself a city council . By 1899, England had been divided at district level into rural districts , urban districts , municipal boroughs , county boroughs and metropolitan boroughs . This system
437-526: The two-tier structure, but reforms in the 1990s and 2009 reduced their number to 192. A further 55 non-metropolitan districts are now unitary authorities, which combine the functions of county and borough/district councils. In Wales , an almost identical two-tier system of local government existed between 1974 and 1996 (see Districts of Wales ). In 1996, this was abolished and replaced with an entirely unitary system of local government, with one level of local government responsible for all local services. Since
460-611: Was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and the Local Government Act 1972 . Non-metropolitan districts were created by this act in 1974 when England outside Greater London was divided into metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties. Metropolitan counties were sub-divided into metropolitan districts and the non-metropolitan counties were sub-divided into non-metropolitan districts. The metropolitan districts had more powers than their non-metropolitan counterparts. Initially, there were 296 non-metropolitan districts in
483-421: Was ended by the Local Government Act 1972 , so that after 1974 only honorary (that is, non-voting) aldermen could be appointed. Since the last boundary changes in 2013, the council has comprised 63 councillors representing 61 electoral divisions . Most divisions elect one councillor, but two (Thame & Chinnor and Grove & Wantage) elect two councillors. Elections are held every four years. The council
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#1732872392891506-519: Was reorganised in England and Wales generally under the Local Government Act 1972 , and Oxfordshire was enlarged to take in areas previously in Berkshire , as well as regaining authority over Oxford. Within its new area, dozens of former urban and rural districts were amalgamated into five non-metropolitan districts : Oxford , Cherwell , South Oxfordshire , Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire . The council has been under no overall control since
529-508: Was unsuccessfully fought by the Conservative opposition. This policy was controversial and drew protests from livestock farmers and TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson , who owns a farm in the county. As a result of the controversy, when the motion came to the council's Cabinet for ratification in March 2022, the proposals were scaled back to cover just seven council meetings and school meals only one day
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