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North West · council 4 of 86 in detail

Lancashire County Council

A county of twelve districts from the Fylde coast to the Pennine mill towns, serving 1.24 million people with high social care demand.

Net revenue budget

£1094m

Per household

£2104

Band D precept

£1610

Since 2019/20

+29%

Data freshness & source status

Figures last integrated 20 Jun 2026

Dataset freshness and link status for Lancashire
DatasetPublishedIntegrated hereLink check
MHCLG — Local authority revenue expenditure and financing (RA/RO returns)24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
MHCLG — Council tax levels set by local authorities in England24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
Local Government Association — LG Inform local authority data24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
NHS England — Adult social care activity and finance report24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
DfE — Education spending statistics24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
Lancashire — published budget book24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
Compare Lancashire with other councils

Budget trend

£845m → £1094m

Data sourcesMHCLG — Local authority revenue expenditure and financing (RA/RO returns)MHCLG APIs (api.gov.uk)MHCLG — Council tax levels set by local authorities in EnglandMHCLG APIs (api.gov.uk)Local Government Association — LG Inform local authority datadata.gov.uk 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£755m 69%
  • Retained business rates£153m 14%
  • Government grants£153m 14%
  • Fees, charges and reserves£33m 3%

Where the budget goes

Data sourcesMHCLG — Local authority revenue expenditure and financing (RA/RO returns)MHCLG APIs (api.gov.uk)MHCLG — Council tax levels set by local authorities in EnglandMHCLG APIs (api.gov.uk)Local Government Association — LG Inform local authority datadata.gov.uk API (api.gov.uk)
exact ONS/HMRC/MHCLG/PSS fields

  1. Adult Social Care

    £453m

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

    £871 per household · 41.4% of the budget

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

  2. Children's Services

    £302m

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

    £581 per household · 27.6% of the budget

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

  3. Highways & Transport

    £70m

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

    £135 per household · 6.4% of the budget

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

  4. Waste & Recycling

    £65m

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

    £125 per household · 5.9% of the budget

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

  5. Public Health

    £38m

    Ring-fenced grant funding for prevention: sexual health, drug and alcohol services, health visiting and stop-smoking support.

    £73 per household · 3.4% of the budget

    • Drug and alcohol treatment
    • Sexual health services
    • Health visiting and school nursing
    • Smoking cessation

  6. Environment, Culture & Planning

    £49m

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

    £94 per household · 4.4% of the budget

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

  7. Central & Corporate

    £59m

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

    £113 per household · 5.4% of the budget

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

  8. Capital Financing

    £59m

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

    £113 per household · 5.4% of the budget

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

Population served

1,240k

Households

520k

Spend per resident

£882

Lancashire has one of the highest adult social care shares of any county council budget.

The council maintains around 4,400 miles of road across upland and coastal terrain.

Government grant makes up a larger slice here than in most southern counties.

Sources