Southampton: spending, reserves and debt
Southampton is a unitary authority in the South East with about 259,230 residents (ONS, mid-2025).
Key figures
What the figures show
At 31 March 2026 the council held £74.3 million in unallocated and earmarked reserves (£12.4 million unallocated, £61.9 million earmarked for set purposes), excluding schools and public health reserves. Over the year to 31 March 2026 reserves rose by £22.4 million. The peak in this series was £138.8 million at 31 March 2021.
MHCLG records net spending on services of £531.6 million by Southampton in 2025-26; education was the biggest single service, at 45% of the services that cost money.
That is down 4.8% on 2024-25 and up 56% on 2017-18, in cash terms (not adjusted for inflation).
MHCLG's borrowing and investment table shows £406.0 million of outstanding borrowing at 31 March 2026, against investments of £65.3 million. Borrowing is 2.6 times its level at 31 March 2010 (£154.9 million). The latest quarter, to 30 June 2026, shows £384.3 million.
Divided by the ONS mid-2025 population estimate of 259,230, borrowing comes to £1,566 per resident, 7th highest of the 13 unitary, metropolitan and London borough councils in the South East with money pages here.
For 2026-27, the average Band D bill in the area is £2,381.48, +5.1% on 2025-26 and 5.1 times the £468.00 of 1993-94. On the statutory proportions that means £1,587.65 in Band A and £4,762.96 in Band H.
GOV.UK lists Southampton among councils given Exceptional Financial Support in 2024-25 and 2025-26; the amounts as published are in the table below.
Southampton spending by service, 2025-26
| Service | Net spending, 2025-26 | Share of services that cost money | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | £240.7 million | 45.3% | £928.40 |
| Adult social care | £117.5 million | 22.1% | £453.13 |
| Children's social care | £76.1 million | 14.3% | £293.61 |
| Environment and regulation (including waste) | £24.8 million | 4.7% | £95.63 |
| Public health | £19.7 million | 3.7% | £76.09 |
| Housing (not council housing) | £14.4 million | 2.7% | £55.43 |
| Culture and leisure | £14.2 million | 2.7% | £54.77 |
| Central services | £10.5 million | 2.0% | £40.64 |
| Planning and development | £9.6 million | 1.8% | £36.94 |
| Highways and transport | £4.2 million | 0.8% | £16.07 |
| Total | £531.6 million | £2,050.70 |
History
Southampton: net spending by year
| Year | Net spending |
|---|---|
| 2017-18 | £340.9 million |
| 2018-19 | £359.8 million |
| 2019-20 | £380.8 million |
| 2020-21 | £416.1 million |
| 2021-22 | £442.9 million |
| 2022-23 | £466.1 million |
| 2023-24 | £476.6 million |
| 2024-25 | £558.6 million |
| 2025-26 | £531.6 million |
Southampton: reserves at 31 March
| Date | Reserves |
|---|---|
| 31 March 2018 | £93.4 million |
| 31 March 2019 | £95.8 million |
| 31 March 2020 | £102.7 million |
| 31 March 2021 | £138.8 million |
| 31 March 2022 | £104.8 million |
| 31 March 2023 | £57.4 million |
| 31 March 2024 | £45.6 million |
| 31 March 2025 | £51.9 million |
| 31 March 2026 | £74.3 million |
Southampton: borrowing and investments
| Date | Borrowing | Investments |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2010 | £154.9 million | £46.2 million |
| 31 March 2011 | £224.1 million | £75.9 million |
| 31 March 2012 | £299.8 million | £68.3 million |
| 31 March 2013 | £311.5 million | £68.8 million |
| 31 March 2014 | £274.4 million | £71.4 million |
| 31 March 2015 | £252.7 million | £94.3 million |
| 31 March 2016 | £249.2 million | £90.8 million |
| 31 March 2017 | £259.7 million | £63.0 million |
| 31 March 2018 | £251.2 million | £76.1 million |
| 31 March 2019 | £246.7 million | £73.1 million |
| 31 March 2020 | £277.2 million | £63.4 million |
| 31 March 2021 | £242.0 million | £65.2 million |
| 31 March 2022 | £255.7 million | £110.4 million |
| 31 March 2023 | £303.6 million | £58.1 million |
| 31 March 2024 | £312.6 million | £39.3 million |
| 31 March 2025 | £359.0 million | £66.9 million |
| 31 March 2026 | £406.0 million | £65.3 million |
Southampton: Band D by year
| Year | Area Band D | Council's own Band D |
|---|---|---|
| 1993-94 | £468.00 | not published |
| 1994-95 | £529.88 | not published |
| 1995-96 | £587.25 | not published |
| 1996-97 | £592.48 | not published |
| 1997-98 | £602.96 | £551.21 |
| 1998-99 | £663.66 | £613.53 |
| 1999-00 | £708.96 | £655.05 |
| 2000-01 | £751.72 | £696.64 |
| 2001-02 | £831.90 | £772.86 |
| 2002-03 | £908.32 | £833.17 |
| 2003-04 | £1,085.07 | £987.78 |
| 2004-05 | £1,176.43 | £1,016.77 |
| 2005-06 | £1,223.21 | £1,057.34 |
| 2006-07 | £1,271.59 | £1,098.52 |
| 2007-08 | £1,316.25 | £1,134.81 |
| 2008-09 | £1,368.24 | £1,174.47 |
| 2009-10 | £1,411.38 | £1,208.97 |
| 2010-11 | £1,446.84 | £1,239.21 |
| 2011-12 | £1,446.84 | £1,239.21 |
| 2012-13 | £1,446.84 | £1,239.21 |
| 2013-14 | £1,475.42 | £1,262.79 |
| 2014-15 | £1,503.54 | £1,287.90 |
| 2015-16 | £1,532.26 | £1,313.55 |
| 2016-17 | £1,562.88 | £1,339.82 |
| 2017-18 | £1,635.98 | £1,406.68 |
| 2018-19 | £1,734.14 | £1,490.94 |
| 2019-20 | £1,804.69 | £1,535.52 |
| 2020-21 | £1,846.70 | £1,566.18 |
| 2021-22 | £1,941.28 | £1,644.39 |
| 2022-23 | £1,956.28 | £1,644.39 |
| 2023-24 | £2,058.36 | £1,726.47 |
| 2024-25 | £2,156.99 | £1,812.69 |
| 2025-26 | £2,266.44 | £1,903.14 |
| 2026-27 | £2,381.48 | £1,998.18 |
Southampton figures as CSV · What each figure measures
Southampton council tax bands, 2026-27
Worked out from Band D (£2,381.48) at the proportions in section 5 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992; area averages.
| Band | Annual amount |
|---|---|
| Band A | £1,587.65 |
| Band B | £1,852.26 |
| Band C | £2,116.87 |
| Band D | £2,381.48 |
| Band E | £2,910.70 |
| Band F | £3,439.92 |
| Band G | £3,969.13 |
| Band H | £4,762.96 |
Section 114 notices and Exceptional Financial Support
GOV.UK publishes a page for each year listing the councils given Exceptional Financial Support (permission to use capital money or borrowing to meet day-to-day costs). Southampton appears in these years, with the wording as published:
| Year | As published on GOV.UK |
|---|---|
| 2024-25 | £121.58m (support agreed in-principle) |
| 2025-26 | £89.9m (support agreed in-principle); Note: Provisionally incudes revised support agreed in 2024-25, subject to final confirmation |
Who has power over Southampton
Every body that makes decisions for Southampton, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Southampton council this page
- Southampton in official figures population, pay, house prices, crime
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Romsey and Southampton North: Caroline Nokes (Conservative) MP
- Southampton Itchen: Darren Paffey (Labour) MP
- Southampton Test: Satvir Kaur (Labour) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
MHCLG revenue outturn · MHCLG borrowing and investment table · MHCLG Band D table · ONS population, mid-2025. Read 15 October 2026; file fingerprints (SHA-256) are listed on the council money page.
More on Southampton
- Southampton: local statistics
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- Can I inspect my council's accounts?
Figures checked 15 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.