Budget consultation 2024-25

A budget for 2024/25 was set at the annual budget setting meeting of all county councillors. Feedback from people across the county provided invaluable insight on priorities, which was used to inform decision making.

The new budget commits to more investment in social care, special education needs and disabilities (SEND) and highways, especially gulley maintenance. In addition, reductions in air pollution and congestion, and support for bus use and active travel remain important parts of the plan.

Find out more about the agreed budget.

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Each year the council gathers the views of Oxfordshire residents to understand their priorities and views on how the council should spend its budget. Views gathered are form part of the decision-making process when councillors decide on the council’s budget for the year ahead.

This year, our activities included two phases:

• Phase 1: Representative residents’ survey
• Phase 2: Budget consultation and engagement using an online budget simulator, online feedback form and ten outreach and engagement events.

Oxfordshire County Council provides 80 per cent of local government services in the county by expenditure and face significant financial challenges in the coming years.

Our phase 1 engagement comprised a representative residents’ postal survey with an option to complete online, which was sent to a representative selection of households across the county. The postal survey was supplemented by 166 on-street interviews targeting younger adults aged 18 - 44 years.

Our phase 2 budget consultation and engagement activities were open to all and specifically targeted Oxfordshire residents including children and young people and seldom heard adults.

Activity ran for approximately eight weeks with an online budget simulator tool; an online feedback form for comments on draft budget proposals; two in-person sounding board events with children and young people; three online Oxfordshire conversations and five in-person targeted events (and one follow-up session) with seldom heard adults .

In all, 1,144 Oxfordshire residents aged 18+ responded to our representative residents’ survey and over 1,500 individuals, groups and organisations participated in our phase 2 budget consultation and engagement in some form and specifically:

• 1,364 people submitted a budget using the simulator tool. They also provided 1,674 comments across all sections of the simulator
• 140 online feedback forms were submitted, in addition to 3 emails
• 88 secondary school aged children took part across our two in-person sounding board events
• 32 people took part across our three online Oxfordshire conversations
• 38 people participated across our five in-person targeted events (and one follow-up session) with seldom heard adults.

Please see our executive summary report which provides feedback received to the engagement and consultation activities. 

The full report can be found here.

The council’s budget proposals and supporting papers can be accessed from this link.