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Where your council tax goes in Cumberland
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Cumberland is £2,511.32 for 2026-27, split between Cumberland £1,964.49, Cumberland: adult social care precept, this year's increase £38.15, Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £338.94, Cumbria PCC-FRA £103.14, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £66.60. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is children's social care at Cumberland: £737.89 of the bill. Council tax pays for 22% 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
- £2,511.32Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,964.49Goes to Cumberland itself (78%)
- £737.89Largest line: children's social care
- 22.1%Of the council's money that comes from council tax, 2023-24
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: £2,511.32
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Cumberland £1,964.49
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Cumbria PCC-FRA £103.14
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Parish and town councils (average for the area) £66.60
Cumberland
£1,964.49 of your bill goes to Cumberland. It is shared out below in proportion to how Cumberland spent its money in 2023-24, its latest published return.
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Children's social care £737.89
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Adult social care £704.16
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Running the council £127.38
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Environment and regulation £111.31
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Roads and transport £80.19
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Housing (not council homes) £61.04
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Planning and development £35.42
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Other services £29.66
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Public health £2.91
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£164.5m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£12.2m) 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: Brighton and Hove, Derby City, Kingston-upon-Hull, Medway Towns, Stoke-on-Trent, Plymouth, Southampton, South Gloucestershire, Milton Keynes, Central Bedfordshire. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Children's social care
£737.89 of your bill goes to children's social care at Cumberland. Here is how its £109.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £370.94
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Services for young people £159.76
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Children's centres and early years £84.75
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Safeguarding and social work £77.20
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Other children's and families' services £21.19
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Family support £15.30
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Youth justice £8.75
Adult social care
£704.16 of your bill goes to adult social care at Cumberland. Here is how its £104.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Physical support £337.08
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Learning disability support £170.26
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Mental health support £115.90
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Support with memory and cognition £37.67
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Care assessment and safeguarding £18.58
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Assistive equipment and technology £9.34
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £9.02
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £5.81
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Sensory support £0.49
Physical support
£337.08 of your bill goes to physical support at Cumberland. Here is how its £50.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £278.18
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Aged 18 to 64 £58.90
Learning disability support
£170.26 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Cumberland. Here is how its £25.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £149.58
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Aged 65 and over £20.68
Mental health support
£115.90 of your bill goes to mental health support at Cumberland. Here is how its £17.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £84.50
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Aged 65 and over £31.41
Running the council
£127.38 of your bill goes to running the council at Cumberland. Here is how its £18.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other central services £85.97
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Corporate and democratic core £18.40
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Collecting council tax and business rates £13.91
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £4.72
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Elections and electoral registration £4.39
Environment and regulation
£111.31 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Cumberland. Here is how its £16.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste collection £33.60
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £26.77
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Recycling and waste minimisation £21.86
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Street cleaning £18.04
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Cemeteries and crematoria £3.01
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Trading standards £2.72
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Community safety and CCTV £2.39
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £1.45
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Public toilets £0.85
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Other environmental services £0.62
Roads and transport
£80.19 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Cumberland. Here is how its £11.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Transport planning and policy £23.78
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Road and bridge maintenance £22.22
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £14.58
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Street lighting (including energy) £14.00
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Winter service (gritting) £5.62
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£74.52 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Cumberland. Here is how its £11.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Libraries £28.50
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £19.83
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £18.13
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Tourism £3.45
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Sport and leisure £2.63
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Community centres and public halls £1.96
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Other culture and leisure £0.02
Housing (not council homes)
£61.04 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Cumberland. Here is how its £9.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Supporting People and welfare services £36.39
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £12.86
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £8.87
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Private sector housing renewal £2.11
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £0.81
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. Cumberland reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2023-24: it has no council homes of its own, or they were transferred to a housing association. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Planning and development
£35.42 of your bill goes to planning and development at Cumberland. Here is how its £5.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £13.83
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Community development £10.39
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Planning applications (development management) £7.61
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Planning policy £2.54
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Environmental initiatives £0.69
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Building control £0.36
Public health
£2.91 of your bill goes to public health at Cumberland. Here is how its £12.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children's 5-19 programmes £0.75
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Drug and alcohol services £0.67
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Public mental health £0.52
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Sexual health £0.34
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Obesity and physical activity £0.32
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Other public health £0.22
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.06
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.03
Cumberland: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£38.15 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 Cumberland's adult social care spending of £104.3m divided in 2023-24. 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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Physical support £18.26
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Mental health support £6.28
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Support with memory and cognition £2.04
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Care assessment and safeguarding £1.01
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.51
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.49
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £0.31
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Sensory support £0.03
Physical support
£18.26 of your bill goes to physical support at Cumberland. Here is how its £50.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £15.07
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Aged 18 to 64 £3.19
Learning disability support
£9.22 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Cumberland. Here is how its £25.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £8.10
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Aged 65 and over £1.12
Mental health support
£6.28 of your bill goes to mental health support at Cumberland. Here is how its £17.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £4.58
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Aged 65 and over £1.70
Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£338.94 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 Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £154.0m 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.
Cumbria PCC-FRA
£103.14 of your bill goes to Cumbria PCC-FRA. It is shared out below in proportion to how Cumbria PCC-FRA spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Fire and rescue £100.95
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Running the council £2.19
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: Shropshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Cleveland Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Durham Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, North Wales Fire Authority, Bedfordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Hereford and Worcester Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority, East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, North Yorkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Buckinghamshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£100.95 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Cumbria PCC-FRA. Here is how its £34.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £53.75
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Community fire safety £47.20
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Cumberland 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) | £2.9m | £10 | £18 | — | — |
| |||||
Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £3.7m | £13 | £14 | £1,623 (similar: £7,471) | — |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £4.3m | £15 | £11 | £1,896 (similar: £5,446) | — |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £4.3m | £15 | £2.53 | £1,896 (similar: £1,478) | — |
| |||||
Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £1.1m | £3.83 | £1.82 | £480 (similar: £986) | — |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £2.7m | £9.53 | £9.72 | £1,194 (similar: £5,138) | — |
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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 | £557 | £718 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £387 | £300 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £370 | £483 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £67 | £51 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £58 | £111 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £45 | £65 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £42 | £49 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £39 | £38 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £32 | £34 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £19 | £22 |
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Other servicesDetails for Other services | £16 | £9.20 |
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- Cumberland spent 44.4% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2023-24 (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 Cumberland and everything else about Cumberland.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Cumberland?
- A Band D bill of £2,511.32 is split between Cumberland, Cumberland: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, Cumbria PCC-FRA, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is children's social care, £737.89.
- 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.