Council tax to rise by 5% 'to help fix potholes'

Council tax will rise by almost 5% after a local authority agreed its annual budget, with fixing potholes and more funding for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) among its priorities.

From 1 April, the average band D property will see tax rise by £90.84 per year to £1,911.40, Oxfordshire County Council said.

More than £50m will go towards highway maintenance, and just over £1m will fund special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the county.

The authority said increasing tax was a condition of securing additional government funding.

Dan Levy, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for finance, said the authority had "little choice" other than to raise council tax.

"Effectively we were told [by the government] that we had to raise the 4.99%, or we wouldn't have our core funding protected," he continued.

He said it was "very likely" there would be a reduction in the amount of funding that the council could spend next year.

"All councils want more certainty looking forward," he added.

The council – currently run by a Lib Dem/Green Party alliance - has no overall control and it was a Labour and Co-operative group amendment that was accepted.

This included funding for children's services, roads and cycle routes.

Liz Brighouse, leader of the council's Labour group, said she "understood completely" how people felt about council tax.

"[But] for us, it's about putting council tax up or cutting services," she said.

Eddie Reeves, leader of the Conservative group, said his party wanted to see council tax frozen in real terms but added that "wasn't possible" due to the Labour government's budget in 2024.

The council said a total of 2% of the council tax increase was ringfenced for adult social care under rules set down by the government.

Other funding that was agreed as part of the budget was:

• £1m for the expansion of early years support
• £400,000 to support the increase in the number of children with SEND requiring home to school transport
• £3.6m for flooding measures

Additions to the council's capital budget included:

• £38.6m for a two-year highways maintenance programme
• £11.1m towards the completion of Watlington Relief Road
• £1.8m for active travel measures to encourage walking and cycling

Potholes are a major issue on Oxfordshire's roads, with one near Didcot being described as a "full-on crater" by a local councillor.

In November, the authority said it faced a £25m funding shortfall for 2025/26.

It added its total net budget for 2025/26 would be £646m.

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