The Oxfordshire County Council meeting on 9 December 2025 included discussion of a proposal to submit an Expression of Interest for a Mayoral Strategic Authority, a review of member allowances, and reports on gender and ethnicity pay gaps. Also on the agenda was a mid-term review of treasury management and a review of member champions. Several motions were put forward for consideration, covering topics such as emergency planning for reservoir discharges, community cohesion, mental health services, men's health awareness, and pavement weed clearance.

Devolution for Oxfordshire

The council was asked to consider a report regarding devolution for Oxfordshire, and to endorse the cabinet's decision to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the government for a Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA). The EOI was described as an early-stage invitation to the government to engage in discussions, distinct from the council's Local Government Reorganisation proposal.

The EOI was a joint proposal agreed by leaders across Oxfordshire and the wider region, reflecting a shared ambition for greater local control and improved outcomes for residents. The report stated that devolution could bring enhanced powers and resources for local leaders around transport, housing, skills, and economic development, and that an MSA would provide a formal governance structure to deliver these benefits collaboratively.

The cabinet report attached as Annex A identified that cabinet were asked to:

• Confirm commitment to devolution as a strategic approach for Oxfordshire.
• Agree that a Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA) offers potential benefits for the region, including stronger regional collaboration and access to additional powers and funding.
• Support further engagement with Government to explore what an MCA could achieve for Oxfordshire and the wider region.

The Thames Valley EOI highlighted:

• Economic rationale: The region has national and international excellence in at least 5 of the 8 key business sectors highlighted in the Modern Industrial Strategy¹.
• Collaborative governance: There is a commitment to partnership working across constituent councils.
• Strategic powers and funding: Powers over transport, skills, housing, and economic development and the ability to provide these within a business eco-system will lead to greater investment.
• Place-based leadership: Greater local control to deliver national policy objectives at local level has been shown to be successful in other established Strategic Authority areas.

Scheme of Members' Allowances 2026/27

The council was asked to consider a report regarding a scheme of members' allowances for the financial year 2026/27. Each year, the council is required to adopt a scheme of members' allowances to apply from 1 April of the following year, setting the amount of a basic allowance payable to all members and payments for special responsibility and co-opted members' allowances.

The report included recommendations made by the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) in November 2025, with the council able to accept the panel's recommendations in whole or in part, or to determine other amounts. The main changes proposed by the IRP were:

• An increase in the basic allowance payable to all councillors from £14,268 to £15,420 per annum.
• An increase in special responsibility allowances (SRA).
• That a cap be retained, such that no individual member of the council should be entitled to receive more than two special responsibility allowances at any one time.
• That the co-optees' allowance continues to be payable to an independent co-opted member of the Audit & Governance Committee when the co-opted member serves as Chair of the Audit Working Group, equivalent to Committee/Scrutiny Committee Chair and increased to £9,252.
• That the council's basic and special responsibility allowances and the co-optees' allowance to the Chair of the Audit Working Group be amended annually in line with the percentage rise in overall employee costs for Oxfordshire County Council arising from the annual Local Government Pay Award for staff, taking effect from the date on which the award for staff similarly takes effect; however, if the above increases are agreed, the pay award should not be applied to any increased allowances in 2026/27 but from 2027/28. This will be limited to the four-year term of each council.
• That child and dependant carer's allowances be increased.
• That the council retains, for members, the travel and subsistence scheme that is applicable to officers.
• That claims made under the council's travel and subsistence scheme be accompanied by receipts and/or any other relevant evidence of the costs incurred and that claims under the scheme be made, in writing, within two months of the relevant duty in respect of which the entitlement to the allowance arises.
• That the list of approved duties for the purpose of travel, subsistence and dependant care allowances continue.
• That the amounts for basic allowance, special responsibility allowances and co-optees' allowances be rounded to the nearest pound when first set.

The council was also able to adopt an index, as in previous years, whereby the basic, special responsibility allowances and co-opted members' allowances would rise each year by reference to an index.

Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap Reports 2024/25

The council was asked to note Oxfordshire County Council's statutory Gender Pay Gap report of 2025 and approve it for onward submission to the Gender Pay Gap Service by 31 March 2026, note the council's voluntary Ethnicity Pay Gap report of 2025, and agree to the publishing of both reports on the council's website by 31 March 2026.

The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 stipulate that all businesses, public sector and third sector organisations with over 250 employees must publicly report on average pay differences between their male and female employees.

As at 31 March 2025, the council's mean gender pay gap was 1.89%, a reduction since 2024, when it was reported as 2.95%. As at 31 March 2025, the council's mean ethnicity pay gap was 2.11%, also a reduction from 2.59% in March 2024.

Treasury Management Mid-term Review

The council was asked to note the council's treasury management activity in the first half of 2025/26. Treasury management is defined as:

The management of the organisation's borrowing, investments and cash flows, including its banking, money market and capital market transactions, the effective control of the risks associated with those activities, and the pursuit of optimum performance consistent with those risks.

As at 30 September 2025, the council's outstanding debt totalled £270m and the average rate of interest paid on long-term debt during the 6 months was 4.41%. No new external borrowing was raised during the first half of the year, whilst £2m of maturing Public Works Loan Board (PWLB), was repaid.

During the six months to 30 September 2025, the council achieved an average in-house return of 4.60% on average cash balances of £447.966m, producing gross interest receivable of £9.896m. In relation to external funds, the return for the six months was £2.004m, bringing total investment income to £11.900m. This compares to budgeted investment income of £6.771m, giving a net overachievement of £5.129m.

Review of Member Champions

The council was asked to amend the Council's Constitution to replace part 8.5, Member Champion Role with the text in Appendix 2 of the Review of Member Champions report. The report proposed some changes to the role and function of Member Champions and clarifies the appointment process for future Member Champions.

Oxfordshire County Council currently has a set of Member Champion roles in the following areas:

• Active Travel and Cycling - Councillor Emily Kerr
• Public Transport - Councillor Chris Brant
• Future Generations - Councillor Gareth Epps
• Water Resources - Councillor Andy Graham and Councillor Peter Stevens
• Military - Councillor Liz Leffman
• Marmot - Councillor Bethia Thomas
• Mental Health and Wellbeing - Councillor Robin Jones
• Youth Justice - Vacancy

Motions with Notice from Members of the Council

• Councillor Gavin McLauchlan put forward a motion regarding the Thames Water Resources Management Plan and the South East Strategic Reservoir Option in Abingdon. The motion called on the Leader to write to the Secretary of State to request clarity on how an emergency discharge would be managed and to provide a commitment that the council would be provided with the resources to do so before any Development Consent Order² is considered.
• Councillor Maggie Filipova-Rivers put forward a motion to recognise the risks to communities if disinformation, suspicion, and intolerance disinformation generates go unchallenged, and commit to addressing them wherever they occur, work with partners to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone in our communities and that racism is confronted wherever it occurs, in schools, workplaces, and on our streets, and request that Cabinet supports the co-production of a community cohesion action plan with key stakeholders in consultation with councillors, including actions to support community-led dialogue and ensure appropriate resourcing is considered during budget setting.
• Councillor Liz Brighouse put forward a motion asking the Health and Wellbeing Board to request the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee to investigate and report back to them and to the County Council on how Mental Health services provided by Oxford Health and other organisations are tackling this issue.
• Councillor James Plumb put forward a motion requesting Cabinet to recognise November each year as Men's Health Month in Oxfordshire , working with NHS partners, veteran groups, charities, and community organisations to promote awareness, early intervention, and personal responsibility for health and wellbeing, request Cabinet to seek a standalone report from the Director of Public Health on men's health outcomes in Oxfordshire, including mental health, suicide prevention, cancer awareness, rural and urban access to services, and practical recommendations that strengthen early help and reduce health inequalities, and ask the Leader to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care giving this council's support for the introduction of the government's National Men's Health Strategy.
• Councillor Nathan Ley, seconded by Councillor James Barlow, put forward a cross-party motion to request Cabinet to seek an officer report with options for re-establishing pavement weed clearance and scheduled maintenance, including alternatives to glyphosate, and how the Council can support towns and parishes to reduce reliance on chemical spraying, and request that the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation give due consideration to the findings of this report as part of the next round of budget setting.