Council tax payers in Oxford will soon be able to pay their bills over the Internet, as part of a bid by the city council to make its services more accessible.

In the next couple of months, the technology will be put in place for council tax payers to have their payments debited from their bank accounts online.

City council officers say the move will reduce the costs of collection, contributing to efficiency savings - which could ultimately reduce council tax payments.

If the idea proves a success, it will be extended to tenants' rent payments.

Financial services officer John Blackmore told the audit and review sub-committee that a public consultation involving 600 people showed 42 per cent had access to the Internet.

He said afterwards: "We have started to implement a system whereby people can make council tax payments over the Internet, and hopefully that will be up and running in the next couple of months.

"The theory is that it will reduce the costs of collecting the tax.

"We also hope that at a later date, people will be able to use the service to check their accounts."

At Monday's council meeting, councillors agreed a council tax rise of 9.5 per cent.

Councillors also agreed to investigate the possibility of opening city centre council buildings on Saturday mornings, including Ramsay House, which deals with planning applications.

Sub-committee chairman Cllr Bob Hoyle also asked officers to investigate the possibility of setting up a call centre to deal with inquiries from the public.