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South West Wales · council 56 of 86 in detail

Swansea 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

£600m

Per household

£5714

Band D precept

£1795

Since 2019/20

+27%

Data freshness & source status

Figures last integrated 20 Jun 2026

Dataset freshness and link status for Swansea
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
Swansea — published budget book24 Jul 202520 Jun 2026Not checked
Compare Swansea with other councils

Budget trend

£474m → £600m

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£156m 26%
  • Retained business rates£72m 12%
  • Government grants£342m 57%
  • Fees, charges and reserves£30m 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

    £132m

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

    £1257 per household · 22% of the budget

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

  2. Children's Services

    £54m

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

    £514 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

    £198m

    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.

    £1886 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

    £30m

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

    £286 per household · 5% of the budget

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

  5. Waste & Recycling

    £36m

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

    £343 per household · 6% of the budget

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

  6. Environment, Culture & Planning

    £48m

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

    £457 per household · 8% of the budget

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

  7. Central & Corporate

    £54m

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

    £514 per household · 9% of the budget

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

  8. Capital Financing

    £48m

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

    £457 per household · 8% of the budget

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

Population served

240k

Households

105k

Spend per resident

£2500

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 £1795 a year, excluding police and community council precepts.

Sources