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South West Wales · council 57 of 86 in detail

Carmarthenshire County Council

A principal council in South West Wales, responsible for schools, social services, roads and waste, funded mainly by the Welsh Government's revenue support grant.

Net revenue budget

£500m

Per household

£5952

Band D precept

£1684

Since 2019/20

+27%

Data freshness & source status

Figures last integrated 20 Jun 2026

Dataset freshness and link status for Carmarthenshire
DatasetPublishedIntegrated hereLink check
StatsWales — Local government revenue budgets and council tax24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
Local Government Association — LG Inform local authority data24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
DfE — Education spending statistics24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
Carmarthenshire — published budget book24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
Compare Carmarthenshire with other councils

Budget trend

£395m → £500m

Data sourcesStatsWales — Local government revenue budgets and council taxStatsWales OData API (api.gov.uk)Local Government Association — LG Inform local authority datadata.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)DfE — Education spending statisticsExplore education statistics API (api.gov.uk)
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£130m 26%
  • Retained business rates£60m 12%
  • Government grants£285m 57%
  • Fees, charges and reserves£25m 5%

Where the budget goes

Data sourcesStatsWales — Local government revenue budgets and council taxStatsWales OData API (api.gov.uk)Local Government Association — LG Inform local authority datadata.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)DfE — Education spending statisticsExplore education statistics API (api.gov.uk)
exact ONS/HMRC/MHCLG/PSS fields

  1. Adult Social Care

    £110m

    Care and support for older people and working-age adults with disabilities or long-term conditions.

    £1310 per household · 22% of the budget

    • Residential and nursing placements
    • Home care packages
    • Learning disability support
    • Safeguarding and assessment

  2. Children's Services

    £45m

    Children in care, child protection, family help, SEND support and youth services.

    £536 per household · 9% of the budget

    • Looked-after children placements
    • Child protection social work
    • SEND and home-to-school transport
    • Early help and family hubs

  3. Schools & Education

    £165m

    Running and funding schools directly — a duty Scottish and Welsh councils carry but English county councils do not, because school funding passes through the Dedicated Schools Grant.

    £1964 per household · 33% of the budget

    • Primary and secondary schools
    • Teacher pay and pensions
    • School buildings and meals
    • Early years and childcare

  4. Highways & Transport

    £25m

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

    £298 per household · 5% of the budget

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

  5. Waste & Recycling

    £30m

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

    £357 per household · 6% of the budget

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

  6. Environment, Culture & Planning

    £40m

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

    £476 per household · 8% of the budget

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

  7. Central & Corporate

    £45m

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

    £536 per household · 9% of the budget

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

  8. Capital Financing

    £40m

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

    £476 per household · 8% of the budget

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

Population served

189k

Households

84k

Spend per resident

£2646

Schools and social services together account for well over half of the net revenue budget.

The Welsh Government revenue support grant and redistributed business rates fund most of the total.

Band D council tax is £1684 a year, excluding police and community council precepts.

Sources