Tuesday 9th September 2025
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Oxford City Council announces new powers to improve energy standards

Timea Iliffe
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Oxford City Council announces new powers to improve energy standards

Oxford City Council has taken on new powers to improve the energy efficiency standards of commercial and rental properties across the city.

Powers previously held by the Oxfordshire County Council to enforce Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) in the private rented sector and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) in commercial properties have now been delegated to the Council.

This comes after Oxford was chosen by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as one of six pilot areas to enforce the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards that became law in April 2018. The decision came with a grant of £150,000 awarded in 2019.

These standards require landlords to have an Energy Performance Certificate which measures and shows tenants the energy efficiency of a property. The certificate grades properties from A to G, with the lowest rating allowed being an E – properties with a rating of F or G cannot legally be rented out. The average energy efficiency rating in England and Wales is currently a D. Currently only 60% of Oxford’s approximately 20,000 privately rented homes have EPCs, representing a potential violation of current energy laws in 8,000 properties.

The power to enforce these standards, previously split between Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council, will now be delegated to the City Council. Previously, the City Council had merely been informing businesses of their responsibility to comply with standards, with enforcement carried out by the County Council.

In a press release, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Housing and Councillor Linda Smith said she was “delighted” by the delegation of powers, and that the move would help “work to reduce our carbon emissions and tackle the climate emergency.” Buildings currently represent 81% of Oxford’s total carbon emissions.

Image attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fowler_Ridge_Wind_Farm_2621902438.jpg

Review: Dr Faustus

Nia Brown
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Review: Dr Faustus

“Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.” 

As clawing hands ooze from behind a bookshelf, as twisted shadows creep against the walls, as light flares across the stage, 00Productions’ adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus at the Keble O’Reilly Theatre keeps its audience wonderfully suspended between the mortal world and the imminent threat of inferno.

Caroline Taylor introduces the play as the Chorus, immediately setting the high standard of performance with a natural grace. Henry Waddon then commands the stage as the brilliant, yet hubristic, Doctor Faustus. Opening with a wine-glass in hand and drunk on the prospect of uninhibited power, it would have been easy to render Faustus as a wholly Machiavellian villain. However Waddon’s Faustus is one who is engaging and relatable, making his moral corruption all the more frightening. Amongst his narcissistic gushing, the sensitivity Waddon conveys in Faustus’ realisation that God “loves thee not” is remarkably touching. Such a convincing portrayal of the gradual and pitiful decline into hellish torment is testament to Waddon’s remarkable ability to navigate the extremes of human emotion with a natural sincerity. Gemma Daubeney is sinister yet exciting as Mephistophilis. Despite her menacing edge, there is a playful energy to her performance, and her enraptured glee in wreaking havoc lends light to an otherwise dark narrative. 

From Alice Penrose’s set; the ticking clock looming above, and disordered bookshelves; to Will Hayman’s lighting design, the visual elements of the production were absolutely excellent. The introduction of the seven deadly sins springs to mind as a particular visual highlight of the performance. With twisted limbs and clacking tongues, the wonderful grotesqueness of the sins was magnified by lights shifting in colour and an undercurrent of ominous sound that permeated the auditorium. Embedding speakers in the set was an especially effective move in this sense, with the sounds of hell fully integrated and resonating throughout the theatre: hell and the mortal world felt fully intertwined. 

Doctor Faustus is emblematic of the best theatre Oxford University has to offer, both in terms of performance and in terms of its creative vision. With loud pyrotechnics and convincingly bloody special effects, Doctor Faustus is by no means for the faint-hearted. Thoughtful and inspired, Amelia Rogers’ direction ensures that this 16th century play is revitalised with a tantalising mix of wonder and despair, unleashing the true horror of a man meddling with the devil. 

Billy Bragg sings for Bernie at Oxford rally

Ana Gheorghe
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Billy Bragg sings for Bernie at Oxford rally

Singer-songwriter and left-wing activist Billy Bragg visited Oxford last week to campaign for Bernie Sanders in time for the Democrats Abroad Primary.

Bragg sang at the rally outside the Clarendon Building for a crowd of more than 100 people with the aim of encouraging US nationals living in Oxford to vote for Bernie Sanders.

Bragg touched upon a number of current issues, including climate change, the #MeToo movement and fake news, while also commenting on UK politics by bringing up Jeremy Corbyn.

Billy Bragg is known for lyrics that span political themes, as his music is heavily centred on bringing about change and involving people in activist causes.

The 2020 Democrats Abroad primary is a global vote allowing American citizens living outside the United States to participate in the nomination process.

The rally on Sunday was officially organised by Bernie2020UK and by Oxford4Bernie.

Co-organizer of the event, Aisha Ahmad, stressed the need to “let Americans living in the United Kingdom know that they could vote and have a voice in this historic election”.

Speaking of her own past experience of the 2016 primaries, Ahmad said that she “only found out a day before polls opened” that she could vote. As a result, she wanted to “ensure that as many Americans and friends and family of Americans knew that they could make their vote count”.

She also told Cherwell that Billy Bragg was contacted by the organisers of the event, and he “responded promptly and enthusiastically, as the left can always count on him to do. He was extremely professional, brought a fantastic energy to the protest and wants to keep working with us in the future”.

Ahmad was enthusiastic to talk about a prospective Sanders presidency, emphasizing the need for a “robust public sector” as “welfarism that is cherished as a non-negotiable part of political and social life”, and claiming that “Bernie has the most global outlook of any major presidential candidate, not just in this race but in American electoral history. Whether it is climate change or war or arms deals or free trade, his is a platform geared not only towards the American working class but the world’s workers and the world’s poor.”

Prince Charles visits Oxford

Rachel Cordery
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Prince Charles visits Oxford

The Prince of Wales visited Oxford on Thursday.

Prince Charles first met students, staff and fellows at Jesus College to mark the appointment of the new Jesus Chair of Celtic and to learn about new student initiatives in Wales.

Jesus College is known as the “Welsh” college and they maintain strong links with Wales.

Jesus has a Welsh Access Programme which aims to encourage people in underserved communities across the country to encourage them to think about applying to Oxford.

The Prince of Wales met with Jesus College alumnus, Oliver Thomas, who has donated £1m to support the Welsh Access Summer School.

The Summer School is a collaboration with the Welsh government’s Seren Network and enables sixth formers in Welsh state schools to experience life at the University of Oxford in order to encourage more applications.

His Royal Highness then met a group of alumni, including the newly-appointed Jesus Chair of Celtic Dr David Willis, and enjoyed a recital of the Gweddi Coleg Iesu, a Welsh Prayer sung by members of the student consort choir directed by Peter Parshall, Chapel Music Coordinator. He viewed the Red Book of Hergest, a compilation of chronicles, mythology, romances and court poetry written in Welsh.

College Librarian Owen McK- night, said: “The Red Book of Hergest was written shortly after 1382 and is one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. The Prince was shown a page that details the herbal remedies of the legendary Physicians of Myddfai.”

Principal Nigel Shadbolt said: “It is a huge privilege to welcome back His Royal Highness to Jesus College to join us in marking the appointment of our new Chair of Celtic and our schools access programmes in Wales. His support for Wales and the people of Wales reflects our own passion for creating a College community that celebrates Welsh culture through its research, activities and people. We also share his values around sustainability and the environment, which echo the views and concerns of our Fellows and students.”

After his visit, the Prince of Wales visited Kellogg College to receive the Bynum Tudor Fellowship. The Prince of Wales will be the Bynum Tudor Fellow for the 2019- 2020 academic year, during which the college will celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Established in 2004, past fellows include Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality.

The Prince of Wales, when accepting the award, said: “It gives me great pride and pleasure to accept the Bynum Tudor Fellowship this year, and I would like to express my particular gratitude to Kellogg College in presenting me with this significant honour.”

Prince Charles graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA in 1970 and an MA in 1975. Among his 16 honorary degrees, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Oxford University in 1983.

Colleges offer free vacation residence to students from areas affected by coronavirus

Trudy Ross
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Colleges offer free vacation residence to students from areas affected by coronavirus

Oxford colleges have been asked by the university to make accommodation available for students who cannot return over the Easter vacation due to the spread of coronavirus. The university has always requested that they “consider sympathetically any requests for vacation residence grants”.

New College and Magdalen are among the first of the colleges to offer free vacation residence to affected students. During a JCR meeting at New College, JCR President Josh Atwell announced a meeting for those who wanted to ask questions about the available accommodation.

He added: “On a similar note, there have been some instances of people being mistreated or making jokes about this subject (the coronavirus).

“This is a sensitive topic for people with family in affected regions, so please avoid that and call out people who are being insensitive on the topic.”

The university gave advice to students who may be affected on its website, saying: “If you live in Mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau), you are advised not to return for the vacation. If you are travelling to, or have family travelling from, other affected areas, you should consider the risks of exposing yourself and the University to the virus, and speak to your college in the first instance if you need any further advice.”

Oxford University has also advised students and staff to heed the guidelines provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regarding travel to affected areas. Staff have been informed that they must revisit their risk assessment with their manager. They add: “All travel on behalf of the University must go through the University’s risk assessment process outlined on the Safety Office website.”

Vice Chancellor, Louise Richardson, sent an email to Oxford students on the 3rd of March outlining the university’s response to the outbreak. She said: “The University and the Conference of Colleges have been working closely together and co-ordinating all our activity. We have identified facilities that we will be able to use should we need to provide central testing or isolation facilities, and Colleges have been working with their students to make arrangements for those who are unable to travel home for the holidays.”

She went on to say: “This is a time for us to come together as a community and to support not shun one another. We are a truly global institution and delight in bringing together diverse cultural norms, and we are, above all, a community of scholars and students coming together to learn, to research and to improve the world around us.”

Oriel to hold Coronavirus News solidarity dinner

David Alexander
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Oriel to hold Coronavirus News solidarity dinner

Oriel College is hosting a “solidarity dinner” on the evening of Friday 6th March, intended to act in solidarity with students from countries affected by the coronavirus. They have been invited to the dinner “as guests of the college”.

In an email announcing the dinner, Domestic Bursar Steven Marshall caused controversy by referring to affected countries as being in the “Far East” and saying that the dinner would feature an “Oriental-themed menu.”

A further email described the menu for the dinner. It promised “exotic fruits” and “fortune cookies”.

One Oriel student said of the dinner: “We recognise that Oriel means well, but the language used in the first email was really archaic and thoughtless, and has left a number of students worried that Oriel is substituting a nice black-tie formal with wine for actual meaningful help for struggling students.”

Another Oriel student echoed these sentiments when they commented: “The formal feels incredibly tone deaf on Oriel’s part, and geared towards boosting formal attendance above anything else. Had the college tried to use the event to raise money for vaccine research, then perhaps it would be more understandable. But right now, to many students, this whole dinner seems misguided.”

A spokesperson for Oriel College said: “The College recognises that the past few months have been especially worrying for some of our overseas students, particularly those from China and other regions in Asia who will be unable to travel home to see their families during the Easter vacation due to concerns over the rapid spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

“In addition to providing practical support by ensuring that affected students have accommodation over the vacation, along with appropriate welfare provisions, the College has organised a formal din- ner to which affected students have been invited to dine as guests of the College.

“The event is intended to bring the College community together to show solidarity with all those impacted.

“The response to the event has been positive and many of our students and academic staff have signed up to attend the dinner and show their support. We are very proud of the community spirit that has been shown in response to this challenging situation.”

Oxford City Council releases annual performance statistics on gender pay gap

Trudy Ross
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Oxford City Council releases annual performance statistics on gender pay gap

The City Council report has revealed that, on average across the whole of the Council’s workforce, women earn 10.2% less than men.

This is the first year that the annual report has not included the ODS workforce (formerly Oxford Direct Services) in its statistics. This company is wholly owned by the Council and includes parks maintenance, refuse and recycling, and construction. ODS is now a separate company from the City Council and reports its gender pay gap data independently, under the terms of the Equalities Act.

This change has been clearly reflected in the Council’s gender pay statistics. In the last two years, the reports which included the ODS workforce showed that overall women actually earned slightly more than men.

The Council’s workforce is predominantly female, with women making up 401 members of staff or 58% of the workforce. However, many of these women work in lower-earning positions.

Men make up the vast majority of the ODS workforce, with 570 male members of staff making up 88% of the workforce, as of 31st March 2019.

Staff on the same salary point within each grade receive the same hourly pay, regardless of gender.

The Council claims that: “Success in closing the Council’s gender pay gap will be achieved through its employment policies and practices”. These practices include training and organisational development

initiatives to encourage participation by female colleagues within “higher graded” positions in the Council, as well as policies which facilitate greater flexibility in the time, place and manner by which work is performed. The Council also says it will enforce recruitment approaches and methods that “promote the Council as an employer of choice and place to build a great career, with access to a range of flexible working arrangements.”

Councillor Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities and Customer Focused Services, commented: “This year’s report reflects the change in the balance of the way women and men are employed within the City Council’s workforce after you have removed the ODS workforce data. Most importantly, it also shows that women are still not reaching the highest levels of the organisation in equal numbers as men.

“We have strong policies to support flexible working, parental leave and career development, which are shown to support women’s career progress. We are actively addressing the barriers through a planned programme to support more women and BAME candidates to progress internally, and to attract more diverse external candidates.

City Council to hold Conflict Awareness Training for Members

Madison Carroll
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City Council to hold Conflict Awareness Training for Members

On March 2nd, Oxford City Council approved a recommendation to hold conflict awareness training for its members.

This is meant to help ensure the safety of councillors ahead of the upcoming May elections.

In response to a Cherwell request for comment, the council said that the training was instituted for concerns of safety.

The council’s statement said: “Oxford City Council takes the safety of its councillors very seriously.”

“Guidance on conflict awareness will be offered to candidates in the forthcoming May elections to help minimise the possibility of anyone being put at risk during pre-election canvassing.”

The proposal that councillors undergo this training outlined the threat to safety councillors face during an election season.

The report states that personal safety is “a significant issue for members at present.” In past elections, councillors have faced threats to safety while canvassing and performing electoral activities.

Last year, a Conservative candidate who was passing out leaflets in Bristol was aggressively pushed against a wall.

In October, petrol bombs were thrown outside the home of a councillor in Dewsbury. In 2018, a councillor in Oxford had to have minor surgery after being bitten by a dog while passing out leaflets.

The conflict awareness training will occur in March in preparation for the May elections, when councillors will be canvassing.

All 48 Oxford City Council seats are going to be contested in the May election. The council’s report states that the offer for training will be open to all the candidates who are standing for election in May – approximately 200 candidates. The training sessions will be delivered to groups of up to 15 members and the cost of each session is £500.

The recommendation for conflict awareness training also states that further training should be completed after the 2020 elections and that it should continue to occur in March of each year prior to other city council elections.

In addition to holding training sessions, the council has also reissued its guidance form on personal safety.

This guidance form discusses how to spot the warning signs for a possible threat to personal safety and what steps should be taken to prepare to canvass.

This guidance also recommends members to consult the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a nonprofit that specialises in safety training, and the government’s Health and Safety Executive for external resources.

Oxford awarded for anti-poverty work

Mark Robins
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Oxford awarded for anti-poverty work

Oxford has been awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its anti-poverty work. The award was presented to the university by Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace last month.

Oxford gained the accolade due to its development of a multidimensional measure for poverty. The multidimensional index offers a more comprehensive approach to poverty by measuring the various ways poor people suffer in their everyday, not just their income.

According to the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), “A person who is poor can suffer from multiple disadvantages at the same time – for example they may have poor health or malnutrition, a lack of clean water or electricity, poor quality of work or little schooling. Focusing on one factor alone, such as income, is not enough to capture the true reality of poverty.”

OPHI, a research centre in the Oxford Department of International Development, is headed by Dr Sabina Alkire, who developed the multidimensional approach alongside Professor James Foster.

Dr Alkire said: “When poor persons, who are the real experts on this subject, explain what poverty is, they articulate multiple disadvantages such as lack of good education, joblessness, poor health, insecurity, ramshackle housing or inadequate sanitation. A multidimensional measure of poverty reflects the lived experiences of impoverished people – and enables actions that redress multiple deprivations.” She also said OPHI was “delighted to receive this prize”.

Alkire and Foster’s method has been applied to both national and international poverty measures. An OPHI spokesperson said: “Whilst OPHI is interested in multidimensional poverty measurement in high-income countries such as the UK, OPHI’s focus to date has been on measuring multidimensional poverty in low- and middle-income countries around the world so that policymakers can tackle it efficiently and effectively.”

OPHI has used this method to help develop Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index, which measures non-traditional aspects of culture and well-being, and the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, which measures the agency and inclusion of women in the sector.

Speaking to Cherwell, the spokesperson added: “OPHI will continue to promote, develop and help implement official permanent national multidimensional poverty indices in countries around the world, and their use by high-level policy leaders, in order to harness both data and political will to tackle poverty in all its forms and dimensions.”

The Anniversary Prize is awarded every two years for outstanding research work. The award is managed by the Royal Anniversary Trust, which praised OPHI’s method as “a unique framework for tackling global poverty”.

International Women’s Festival begins in Oxford

Natasha Voase
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International Women’s Festival begins in Oxford

The 31st International Women’s Festival in Oxford began this term and will involve two weeks of events on the theme of “threads of Liberation.” The fortnight kicked off with the Women’s Liberation Conference which took place on Saturday 29th February.

The main event, “Threads of Liberation” will take place on the 6th of March at 7pm in the Oxford Town Hall. During the evening, a variety of mediums such as dance, music and poetry will be used to showcase the experience of women from a variety of different backgrounds. According to the Festival organisers contacted by Cherwell, Annelise Dodds, Oxford East MP, will be attending and speaking.

The Festival, which will end on the 14th of March, was inspired by the 50th anniversary of the first Women’s Liberation Conference which was held at Ruskin College, Oxford in February 1970. At the original event, women came together and demanded equal pay, improved education, twenty-four-hour nurseries, free contraception and abortion on demand, as well as a commitment to campaign on other issues as they arose. According to a Festival spokesperson, the event aims to “celebrate and support women’s struggles as well as their creativity.”

A spokesperson for the Oxford International Women’s Festival Collective told Cherwell that the event the Women’s Liberation Conference, which was held last Saturday, and according to a Festival spokesperson “encouraged many women to question women’s role in society and to campaign for women’s equality and equality of opportunity.” There was some controversy regarding the event as Oxford History Professor, Selena Todd, was allegedly asked by organisers not to speak.

Over the course of the next fortnight, events will aim to showcase the progress made by women as well as to highlight the different experiences of women from a variety of backgrounds. A diverse range of events, such as discussions, exhibitions, marches, action days, retreats and film nights, will celebrate the diversity of women.

A workshop on Saturday 7th March from 10am will educate people on FGM. The workshop, organised by Oxford Against Cutting, will according to a spokesperson “use creative arts projects and advocacy to raise awareness of FGM and other harmful practices.”

On Sunday 8th March, a walk from Oxford City Centre to Cowley Road has been organised to raise awareness about violence experienced by women. Starting at 6 pm, the event aims to “Walk aimed to reclaim spaces women may avoid for fear of violence, sexual harassment or rape, and to raise awareness about violence against women.” Although all are welcome at the celebration on Cowley Road, the walk is women- only.

An exhibition on Afrikan Amazon women will take place at the Fusion Arts & East Oxford, Community Centre from the 3rd March until the 14th March. The exhibition will feature “unsung heroes” as well as the women of the Windrush Generation.

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