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Where your council tax goes in Brighton and Hove
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Brighton and Hove is £2,580.54 for 2026-27, split between Brighton and Hove £2,138.90, Brighton and Hove: adult social care precept, this year's increase £41.52, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £281.91, East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority £117.49, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £0.72. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Brighton and Hove: £833.37 of the bill. Council tax pays for 20% of the council's own spending; the rest is government grant, business rates and fees.
Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Key figures
- £2,580.54Band D bill, 2026-27
- £2,138.90Goes to Brighton and Hove itself (83%)
- £833.37Largest line: adult social care
- 19.6%Of the council's money that comes from council tax, 2025-26
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Who gets your bill
Figures are for a Band D home. Bands A to H pay a fixed fraction of this, set in law.
Parish precepts differ from parish to parish; this is the average across the area, and a home outside any parish pays none.
And where does that bit go?
Choose any part of the bill to see how it divides, then keep going as far as the published returns allow. Every level has its own link you can share.
Your bill: £2,580.54
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Brighton and Hove £2,138.90
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Parish and town councils (average for the area) £0.72
Brighton and Hove
£2,138.90 of your bill goes to Brighton and Hove. It is shared out below in proportion to how Brighton and Hove spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £833.37
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Children's social care £412.27
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Education £237.99
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Housing (not council homes) £188.17
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Environment and regulation £173.01
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Running the council £77.10
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Planning and development £49.12
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Public health £27.95
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Roads and transport £22.80
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Other services £13.52
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£229.4m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£24.4m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 unitary councils in England closest in population: Cumberland, Medway Towns, Derby City, Kingston-upon-Hull, Stoke-on-Trent, Plymouth, South Gloucestershire, Milton Keynes, Southampton, Central Bedfordshire. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£833.37 of your bill goes to adult social care at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £159.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Learning disability support £293.77
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Physical support £260.19
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Care assessment and safeguarding £81.73
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Mental health support £79.23
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £23.82
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Assistive equipment and technology £5.24
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £3.38
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Information and early intervention £1.40
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Sensory support £0.79
Learning disability support
£293.77 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £56.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £268.44
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Aged 65 and over £25.33
Physical support
£260.19 of your bill goes to physical support at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £49.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £154.84
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Aged 18 to 64 £105.36
Support with memory and cognition
£83.82 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £16.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £78.67
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Aged 18 to 64 £5.15
Mental health support
£79.23 of your bill goes to mental health support at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £15.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £60.95
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Aged 65 and over £18.27
Sensory support
£0.79 of your bill goes to sensory support at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £152k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.62
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Aged 65 and over £0.18
Children's social care
£412.27 of your bill goes to children's social care at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £79.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £218.86
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Safeguarding and social work £105.16
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Children's centres and early years £30.01
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Family support £29.11
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Services for young people £12.20
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Youth justice £7.23
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Other children's and families' services £6.94
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Asylum-seeking children £2.77
Education
£237.99 of your bill goes to education at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £275.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £85.67
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Secondary schools £74.61
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Early years and nursery £35.54
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Special schools and alternative provision £25.09
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Other education £14.48
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Post-16 £2.59
Housing (not council homes)
£188.17 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £36.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £160.06
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £16.54
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Private sector housing renewal £4.31
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Supporting People and welfare services £3.09
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Other General Fund housing £2.25
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £1.91
Council homes are not in this. Council housing is paid for through the Housing Revenue Account, from tenants' rents, and the law keeps it separate from the General Fund that council tax goes into. Brighton and Hove's Housing Revenue Account took in £81.4m and spent £84.4m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Environment and regulation
£173.01 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £33.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Street cleaning £50.70
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Waste collection £39.58
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Waste disposal £27.54
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Recycling and waste minimisation £20.07
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Community safety and CCTV £11.05
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Public toilets £10.09
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £6.08
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £3.49
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Trading standards £2.59
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Cemeteries and crematoria £1.81
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£103.61 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £19.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £40.73
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £33.10
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Libraries £26.59
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Sport and leisure £1.80
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Tourism £1.39
Running the council
£77.10 of your bill goes to running the council at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £14.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £34.80
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Collecting council tax and business rates £15.44
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Local welfare assistance £10.70
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £8.54
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Coroners' and other courts £3.84
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Elections and electoral registration £2.93
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Emergency planning £0.85
Planning and development
£49.12 of your bill goes to planning and development at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £9.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £22.02
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Community development £11.25
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Planning applications (development management) £8.07
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Planning policy £6.24
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Building control £1.17
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Environmental initiatives £0.37
Public health
£27.95 of your bill goes to public health at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £29.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Drug and alcohol services £10.11
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Sexual health £4.60
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Children's 5-19 programmes £3.58
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £3.48
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Other public health £3.10
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Obesity and physical activity £0.87
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.80
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Public mental health £0.72
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.69
Roads and transport
£22.80 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £4.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Concessionary bus fares £7.69
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £7.06
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Street lighting (including energy) £1.76
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Traffic management and road safety £0.98
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Transport planning and policy £0.96
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Winter service (gritting) £0.30
Road and bridge maintenance
£4.05 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £5.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £3.85
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £0.20
Brighton and Hove: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£41.52 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how Brighton and Hove's adult social care spending of £159.8m divided in 2025-26. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
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Learning disability support £14.64
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Physical support £12.96
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Care assessment and safeguarding £4.07
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Mental health support £3.95
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.19
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.26
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.17
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Information and early intervention £0.07
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Sensory support £0.04
Learning disability support
£14.64 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £56.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £13.37
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Aged 65 and over £1.26
Physical support
£12.96 of your bill goes to physical support at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £49.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £7.71
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Aged 18 to 64 £5.25
Support with memory and cognition
£4.18 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £16.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £3.92
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.26
Mental health support
£3.95 of your bill goes to mental health support at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £15.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £3.04
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Aged 65 and over £0.91
Sensory support
£0.04 of your bill goes to sensory support at Brighton and Hove. Here is how its £152k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.03
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Aged 65 and over £0.01
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£281.91 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £419.3m divided in 2025-26. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority
£117.49 of your bill goes to East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Fire and rescue £114.38
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Running the council £3.11
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: North Yorkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority, Hereford and Worcester Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Buckinghamshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Mid and West Wales Fire Authority, Cambridgeshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Bedfordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Humberside Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Berkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, North Wales Fire Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£114.38 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £49.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £105.49
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Community fire safety £8.89
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Brighton and Hove spent, net of income, on the lines readers ask about most. Roads and street cleaning are also shown per mile of road the council looks after, where it is the highway authority. Gully cleaning and verge cutting are inside routine maintenance; no return splits them out.
| Line | Net spending | Per resident | Similar councils, per resident | Per mile of road | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parks and open spaces (including play areas)Details for Parks and open spaces (including play areas) | £6.8m | £24 | £16 | — | up 0.1% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £9.8m | £34 | £12 | £26,053 (similar: £6,584) | up 3.9% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £5.8m | £20 | £11 | £15,332 (similar: £4,951) | up 25.6% on 2024-25 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £5.5m | £19 | £7.24 | £14,577 (similar: £4,493) | up 22.2% on 2024-25 |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £284k | £1.00 | £3.70 | £755 (similar: £1,896) | up 173.1% on 2024-25 |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £429k | £1.51 | £2.13 | £1,141 (similar: £944) | up 42.1% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £2.5m | £8.81 | £10 | £6,657 (similar: £3,798) | down 1.6% on 2024-25 |
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Miles of road: Department for Transport road lengths, 2025; locally managed major roads and all minor roads. More on what council tax does and doesn't pay for.
What it adds up to
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
EducationDetails for Education | £968 | £712 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £562 | £478 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £278 | £309 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £127 | £33 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £117 | £110 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £105 | £64 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £70 | £38 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £52 | £51 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £33 | £21 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £15 | £49 |
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Other servicesDetails for Other services | £9.12 | £10 |
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- Brighton and Hove spent 40.5% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for unitary councils in England: 31.1%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
What this data does and doesn't show
- These are each body's own figures, as reported to government in its revenue outturn return. Net spending is after the fees, charges and grants a service brings in.
- Your bill is for 2026-27; it is shared out using the latest published return, which covers an earlier year. The mix of spending changes little from one year to the next, but it does change.
- Council tax is not ring-fenced: this shows your bill in proportion to spending, not what your money bought. Where a precept is set aside for adult social care, it is shown against adult social care.
- No council publishes spending at street or property level, so nothing here says what was spent near you.
- Sub-service lines are the ones the national returns itemise. Councils describe their own budgets differently; their budget books and statements of accounts have more detail.
Sources
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England: Table 10, local authority level data, published 25 March 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: Revenue Outturn multi-year data set, published 28 September 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.
How the split is worked out, and how the three nations' returns are matched to one list of services, is on the methodology page. The dataset is on the data page. See also council tax in Brighton and Hove and everything else about Brighton and Hove.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Brighton and Hove?
- A Band D bill of £2,580.54 is split between Brighton and Hove, Brighton and Hove: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £833.37.
- Is council tax ring-fenced for particular services?
- No. Council tax is pooled with grants, business rates and fees. The adult social care precept is the exception: councils raise it for adult social care.
Sources for this page
| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | the 2026–27 financial year | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: Revenue Outturn multi-year data set | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 28 September 2026 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.