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West Midlands · council 21 of 86 in detail

Worcestershire County Council

The smallest county council budget in England by total value, serving 605,000 people across six districts in the West Midlands.

Net revenue budget

£434m

Per household

£1669

Band D precept

£1541

Since 2019/20

+32%

Data freshness & source status

Figures last integrated 20 Jun 2026

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

Budget trend

£330m → £434m

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£321m 74%
  • Retained business rates£52m 12%
  • Government grants£48m 11%
  • Fees, charges and reserves£13m 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

    £174m

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

    £669 per household · 40% of the budget

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

  2. Children's Services

    £123m

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

    £473 per household · 28.3% 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

    £30m

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

    £115 per household · 6.8% of the budget

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

  4. Waste & Recycling

    £28m

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

    £108 per household · 6.3% of the budget

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

  5. Public Health

    £15m

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

    £58 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

    £19m

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

    £73 per household · 4.4% of the budget

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

  7. Central & Corporate

    £23m

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

    £88 per household · 5.4% of the budget

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

  8. Capital Financing

    £23m

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

    £88 per household · 5.4% of the budget

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

Population served

605k

Households

260k

Spend per resident

£717

Worcestershire runs the smallest net revenue budget of any English county council.

It also sets one of the lowest county Band D precepts in the country.

Flooding on the Severn and Avon is a recurring cost for highways and resilience teams.

Sources