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Northern Ireland · council 76 of 86 in detail

Belfast City Council

One of Northern Ireland's eleven district councils. Belfast runs waste, leisure, parks, planning and environmental health — education, health and roads are delivered by Stormont departments, so the budget is far smaller than a British council's.

Net revenue budget

£195m

Per household

£1283

Band D precept

£1234

Since 2019/20

+27%

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Budget trend

£154m → £195m

Data sourcesNI Department for Communities — Local government finance and district ratesOpenDataNI API (api.gov.uk)Local Government Association — LG Inform local authority datadata.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)Belfast — published budget book
exact ONS/HMRC/MHCLG/PSS fields

How it is funded

Data sourcesMHCLG — Council tax levels set by local authorities in EnglandMHCLG APIs (api.gov.uk)MHCLG — Local authority revenue expenditure and financing (RA/RO returns)MHCLG APIs (api.gov.uk)Local Government Association — LG Inform local authority datadata.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)
  • Council tax£140m 72%
  • Retained business rates£10m 5%
  • Government grants£16m 8%
  • Fees, charges and reserves£29m 15%

Where the budget goes

Data sourcesNI Department for Communities — Local government finance and district ratesOpenDataNI API (api.gov.uk)Local Government Association — LG Inform local authority datadata.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)Belfast — published budget book
exact ONS/HMRC/MHCLG/PSS fields

  1. Highways & Transport

    £8m

    Maintaining the county road network, winter service, street lighting and subsidised bus routes.

    £53 per household · 4% of the budget

    • Road and pothole maintenance
    • Winter gritting
    • Street lighting
    • Supported bus services

  2. Waste & Recycling

    £51m

    Disposal and treatment of household waste collected by the district councils, plus recycling centres.

    £336 per household · 26% of the budget

    • Waste disposal contracts
    • Household recycling centres
    • Energy-from-waste treatment
    • Landfill and haulage

  3. Environment, Culture & Planning

    £70m

    Libraries, country parks, trading standards, registration services, planning and climate work.

    £461 per household · 36% of the budget

    • Libraries and archives
    • Country parks and rights of way
    • Trading standards
    • Registrars and coroners

  4. Central & Corporate

    £43m

    Running the organisation: finance, HR, IT, democratic services, property and legal.

    £283 per household · 22% of the budget

    • Corporate services
    • Digital and IT
    • Property and estates
    • Democratic services

  5. Capital Financing

    £23m

    Interest and repayment on borrowing used to build schools, roads and other long-life assets.

    £151 per household · 12% of the budget

    • Interest on borrowing
    • Minimum revenue provision
    • PFI unitary charges
    • Leasing costs

Population served

348k

Households

152k

Spend per resident

£560

NI district councils do not run schools, social care or roads — those sit with Stormont departments.

Income comes mainly from the district rate, set alongside the regional rate each year.

Around £195m a year covers waste, leisure, parks, planning and environmental health for 348,000 people.

Sources