The local authorityCouncil · district · England · 1 of 164 councils (district)

South Oxfordshire.

Liberal Democrats-controlled district. £15m net revenue. 21 wards across 2 parliamentary constituencies.

Typedistrict
Seats40 councillors · 21 wards
Last election4 May 2023
Net revenue · 2025-26
£15m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,474
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
23/40
Liberal Democrats 57%
Westminster
2
constituencies overlap · 1 MP party
Dispatch
29 Jun 2026

Liberal Democrats chamber, Liberal Democrats MPs.

South Oxfordshire is a district controlled by Liberal Democrats (23 of 40 seats). Net revenue is £15m for 2025-26. It covers 21 wards spanning 2 parliamentary constituencies.

§ 01Composition.40 seats · last contested 4 May 2023

Who sits in the chamber.

LD 23Green 9Henley Residents Group 3Lab 3Con 2

Liberal Democrats 57% · last contested 4 May 2023

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Andrea Jane PowellGrnBenson & Crowmarsh2023
Sue CooperLDBenson & Crowmarsh2023
Robin BennettGrnBerinsfield2023
Robin BennettGrnBerinsfield2019
David Graham TurnerLDChalgrove2023
Ali Gordon-CreedGrnChinnor2023
Ed SadlerLDChinnor2023
Anne-Marie SimpsonLDCholsey2023
Ben ManningLDCholsey2023
Andrew TinsleyLDDidcot North East2023
David RouaneLDDidcot North East2023
Zia MohammedLDDidcot North East2023
Showing 12 of 40·All 40 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

63%
Council tax
£9.7m · median 61%
27%
Central grants
£4.2m · median 26%
10%
Business rates
£1.5m · median 11%

Revenue mix is close to the councils (district) median: 63% council tax, 27% central grants.

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£151
County / upper-tier£1,911
Police£283
Fire & rescue£0
GLA precept£0
Parish average£129
Total Band-D£2,474

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.6 buckets · vs 163 other councils (district)

How does South Oxfordshire split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (district)-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Corporate & Central46.1% of net spend · cohort median 27%
16 of 158+72% vs median
Waste & Recycling32.5% of net spend · cohort median 32%
74 of 158+2% vs median
Planning & Economic Development10.6% of net spend · cohort median 14%
114 of 158-26% vs median
Culture & Leisure8.4% of net spend · cohort median 13%
118 of 158-37% vs median
Housing & Homelessness5.3% of net spend · cohort median 14%
146 of 158-62% vs median
Highways & Transport-2.9% of net spend · cohort median -2%
85 of 158
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 04Top suppliers.1,679 payments · £9.6m gross · 5 Jan 202631 Mar 2026

Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).

Top by total — last 180 days

SupplierPaidSharePmts
BIFFA MUNICIPAL LTD S57146£2.61m27.0%28
DENNIS EAGLE LTD£0.65m6.8%3
THAME TOWN COUNCIL£0.59m6.2%8
CAPITA BUSINESS SERVICES£0.54m5.6%3
FINN GEOTHERM UK LTD£0.43m4.5%3
SOHA HOUSING LTD£0.24m2.5%45
BIFFA WASTE SERVICES LTD (PROPERTY)£0.24m2.5%5
E W BEARD LTD£0.22m2.3%1
OXFORDSHIRE CC PENSION FUND£0.22m2.3%8
OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL£0.15m1.5%9

By service area · top supplier

Service-classified supplier data not yet ingested for this council.

§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.21 wards split across 2 parliamentary seats
ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Henley and Thame1571% Freddie van MierloLD
Didcot and Wantage629% Olly GloverLD
Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 163 other councils (district)
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
1,679 payments · 5 Jan 202631 Mar 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level