Official sources · Questions

Local government finance data: council spending, council tax and debt

Local government finance statistics are the official figures on how councils raise and spend money. For England they are published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), from returns every council must submit, covering revenue spending, council tax, capital spending, borrowing and the annual finance settlement. Fact-checkers use them, alongside each council's own transparency data and audited accounts, to test claims about council tax rises, funding cuts, council debt and councils in financial difficulty.

Covers: UK · Release calendar

What it publishes

• Revenue expenditure and financing statistics for England: budgets each June and outturn later, showing net spending by service (education, adult and children's social care, housing, transport, culture and more) for every council.
• Council tax levels set by local authorities in England each March, including average Band D, average bill per dwelling, the adult social care precept and parish precepts, with figures for every council.
• The local government finance settlement, approved each year by the House of Commons, including core spending power tables for each council and the council tax referendum principles.
• Capital expenditure, receipts and financing, including net debt by type of authority, self-financed borrowing and the value of council assets.
• A borrowing and investment live table for UK local authorities, built from monthly and quarterly returns.
• Exceptional Financial Support decisions for councils that asked the government for help to balance their budgets, with any assurance reviews.
• The Local Government Transparency Code 2015, which requires English councils to publish spending over £500, contracts, senior salaries and more on their own websites.
• Equivalent statistics from the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland's Department for Communities, and audit reports from the National Audit Office, Audit Scotland, Audit Wales and the Northern Ireland Audit Office.

Key datasets

• Local authority revenue expenditure and financing
  Budgets and outturn for every English council by service and by source of income, with individual authority data and a multi-year outturn data set.
  Updated: Annual (budget in June, outturn in autumn and later)
• Revenue outturn multi-year data set
  Long-run outturn data for each council in one file, useful for trends in spending and reserves.
  Updated: Annual
• Council tax statistics
  Council tax levels set each year (Band D and per dwelling), council tax base, collection rates and local council tax support, for England.
  Updated: Annual, with some quarterly tables
• Final local government finance settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29
  The first multi-year settlement in a decade, with core spending power tables, key information for each council and the referendum principles report.
  Updated: Annual (provisional in December, final in February)
• Local authority capital expenditure, receipts and financing
  Capital spending by service and how it was financed, plus prudential system tables including net debt at 31 March by class of authority.
  Updated: Annual, with quarterly live tables
• Live tables on local government finance
  Borrowing and investment for UK local authorities, quarterly capital payments, council tax and business rates receipts, and a quarterly revenue update.
  Updated: Quarterly
• Exceptional Financial Support for local authorities
  Which English councils have been given permission to use borrowing or asset sales for day-to-day costs, by year of decision, with assurance reviews.
  Updated: As decisions are made
• Local Government Transparency Code 2015
  Sets out what English councils must publish themselves, including quarterly spending over £500 and annual senior salary data.
  Updated: Code; councils publish quarterly and annually
• Scottish local government finance statistics
  Revenue and capital spending, council tax and funding for Scotland's 32 councils.
  Updated: Annual
• Council tax levels in Wales
  Band D council tax and increases for each Welsh council and police authority, each year from April.
  Updated: Annual

APIs and downloads

• MHCLG data tables (ODS)
  Each release carries ODS spreadsheets and, for individual authority data, CSV files. No API or key; files are replaced or added with each edition.
• GOV.UK content API
  Returns JSON for any GOV.UK page (add /api/content before the path), listing documents and attachment links, which helps automate downloads. No key needed.
• StatsWales / stats.gov.wales finance tables
  Welsh local government finance and council tax data in downloadable tables.
• Road condition data tables (DfT)
  Annual ODS and zipped tables on road condition and maintenance for local and strategic roads in England.

When it publishes

MHCLG publishes at 9:30am on dates pre-announced on the GOV.UK statistics calendar. Council tax levels for the coming year appear in March, revenue budgets in June, capital outturn and revenue outturn later in the year, and the provisional finance settlement usually in December with the final settlement in February. Live tables on borrowing and capital payments are updated each quarter.

How to use it to check a claim

1. For council tax rises, use the average Band D figure in the council tax levels release and state whether you mean the whole bill or one authority's part.
2. For 'funding cuts' claims, check whether the figure is core spending power, grant funding only or total spending, and whether it is in cash or real terms.
3. Remember core spending power assumes every council raises council tax by the maximum allowed, so it is not all central government money.
4. For council spending, prefer outturn (actual) over budget figures, and say whether the number is net or gross of fees, charges and NHS contributions.
5. For 'bankrupt council' claims, look for the section 114 notice itself on the council's website, and treat Exceptional Financial Support as a separate measure.
6. For council debt, compare borrowing with assets and income and separate housing revenue account debt from general fund debt.
7. For a single council, check its audited statement of accounts and the auditor's opinion, and note the date accounts were signed off.

Common mistakes

• Band D is a standard measure, not the average bill; most English homes are in lower bands.
• Budget figures are plans made before the year starts and can differ greatly from outturn.
• Education spending figures fall when schools convert to academies, because academy funding goes directly from central government.
• Gross debt figures without context can overstate risk, since much council borrowing funds income-producing or long-life assets.
• Disclaimed audit opinions issued because of the statutory backstop dates mean the auditor could not finish the work, not that a fault was found.
• Figures for England are often quoted as if they covered the UK; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland fund and report local government differently.

What is core spending power?

Core spending power is MHCLG's headline measure of the money available to each English council through the finance settlement. It adds settlement grants, locally retained business rates and an estimate of council tax income. The estimate assumes every council raises council tax by the maximum allowed without a referendum, so growth in core spending power partly depends on local taxpayers, not only central grants.

Is there a list of councils that have issued section 114 notices?

There is no official national register. Section 114 notices are issued by each council's chief finance officer and published in council papers. MHCLG publishes which councils have received Exceptional Financial Support, and the National Audit Office reports on local government financial sustainability, but neither is a list of section 114 notices.

Where can I see what my council spent?

Your council's website should have quarterly files of every payment over £500 under the Local Government Transparency Code, plus its annual statement of accounts. For comparisons between councils, MHCLG's revenue outturn tables give spending by service for every English council in a standard format.

Why are some councils' accounts years late?

Many English local bodies built up a backlog of unaudited accounts. The government introduced statutory backstop dates by which audited accounts must be published, for example 27 February 2026 for 2024-25 and 31 January 2027 for 2025-26, and publishes lists of bodies that missed them. Where audits could not be completed in time, auditors issued modified or disclaimed opinions.

Questions answered using this source

• How do I make a Freedom of Information request?
• How much has council tax gone up this year?
• How much are councillors paid?
• What is a section 114 notice, and is my council bankrupt?
• How do I find sold house prices?
• How many people are homeless in England?
• How much tax revenue does the UK collect?
• How much debt are councils in?
• How are councils funded?
• How much do councils spend on adult social care?
• Where can I see my council's spending over £500?
• How do I find out who owns a property?

Links checked 2026-10-13. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.