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South Wales Valleys · council 70 of 86 in detail

Torfaen County Borough Council

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

Net revenue budget

£225m

Per household

£5488

Band D precept

£1933

Since 2019/20

+26%

Data freshness & source status

Figures last integrated 20 Jun 2026

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

Budget trend

£178m → £225m

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£59m 26%
  • Retained business rates£27m 12%
  • Government grants£128m 57%
  • Fees, charges and reserves£11m 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

    £50m

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

    £1220 per household · 22% of the budget

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

  2. Children's Services

    £20m

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

    £488 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

    £74m

    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.

    £1805 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

    £11m

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

    £268 per household · 5% of the budget

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

  5. Waste & Recycling

    £14m

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

    £341 per household · 6% of the budget

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

  6. Environment, Culture & Planning

    £18m

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

    £439 per household · 8% of the budget

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

  7. Central & Corporate

    £20m

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

    £488 per household · 9% of the budget

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

  8. Capital Financing

    £18m

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

    £439 per household · 8% of the budget

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

Population served

93k

Households

41k

Spend per resident

£2419

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 £1933 a year, excluding police and community council precepts.

Sources