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Where your council tax goes in Hastings
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Hastings is £2,676.58 for 2026-27, split between Hastings £316.89, East Sussex County Council £1,923.03, East Sussex County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase £37.26, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £281.91, East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority £117.49. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at East Sussex County Council: £905.49 of the bill. Council tax pays for 9% 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
- £2,676.58Band D bill, 2026-27
- £316.89Goes to Hastings itself (12%)
- £905.49Largest line: adult social care
- 8.8%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.
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: £2,676.58
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Hastings £316.89
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East Sussex County Council £1,923.03
Hastings
£316.89 of your bill goes to Hastings. It is shared out below in proportion to how Hastings spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Housing (not council homes) £150.74
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Environment and regulation £76.34
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Running the council £47.22
Roads and transport brought in £723k more than it cost; Planning and development brought in £3.3m more than it cost in 2025-26, so they take no share of your bill.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 district councils in England closest in population: Rochford, Castle Point, Tandridge, Forest of Dean, Cotswold, High Peak, Stevenage, Mole Valley, Runnymede, South Hams. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Housing (not council homes)
£150.74 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Hastings. Here is how its £11.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £119.32
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Supporting People and welfare services £15.41
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £9.50
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Private sector housing renewal £5.95
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £0.56
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. Hastings reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2025-26: 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.
Environment and regulation
£76.34 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Hastings. Here is how its £5.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste collection £37.74
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £20.02
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Recycling and waste minimisation £9.38
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Public toilets £4.28
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Street cleaning £2.01
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Community safety and CCTV £1.94
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.82
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Other environmental services £0.16
Running the council
£47.22 of your bill goes to running the council at Hastings. Here is how its £3.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £15.49
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Collecting council tax and business rates £15.03
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Other central services £9.82
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Elections and electoral registration £6.16
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Emergency planning £0.72
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£42.60 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Hastings. Here is how its £3.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £25.77
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £7.93
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Sport and leisure £6.64
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Other culture and leisure £1.83
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Tourism £0.43
East Sussex County Council
£1,923.03 of your bill goes to East Sussex County Council. It is shared out below in proportion to how East Sussex County Council spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £905.49
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Children's social care £420.75
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Education £263.32
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Roads and transport £123.50
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Environment and regulation £112.55
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Running the council £39.52
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Housing (not council homes) £20.86
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Public health £15.22
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Planning and development £5.06
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£294.7m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£32.5m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 county councils closest in population: Worcestershire County Council, Warwickshire County Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Leicestershire County Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Suffolk County Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Derbyshire County Council, Devon County Council. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£905.49 of your bill goes to adult social care at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £338.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Learning disability support £275.42
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Physical support £272.52
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Care assessment and safeguarding £97.99
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Mental health support £80.15
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £45.34
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £13.78
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Assistive equipment and technology £12.34
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Sensory support £5.28
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Information and early intervention £3.50
Learning disability support
£275.42 of your bill goes to learning disability support at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £103.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £246.19
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Aged 65 and over £29.23
Physical support
£272.52 of your bill goes to physical support at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £101.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £188.52
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Aged 18 to 64 £84.00
Support with memory and cognition
£99.18 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £37.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £90.37
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Aged 18 to 64 £8.81
Mental health support
£80.15 of your bill goes to mental health support at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £30.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £49.32
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Aged 65 and over £30.83
Sensory support
£5.28 of your bill goes to sensory support at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £2.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £3.42
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Aged 65 and over £1.86
Children's social care
£420.75 of your bill goes to children's social care at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £157.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £275.40
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Family support £48.06
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Safeguarding and social work £45.59
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Services for young people £28.31
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Other children's and families' services £9.18
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Asylum-seeking children £5.73
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Youth justice £5.60
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Children's centres and early years £2.89
Education
£263.32 of your bill goes to education at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £393.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £84.04
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Other education £47.06
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Early years and nursery £44.95
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Secondary schools £43.24
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Special schools and alternative provision £42.41
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Post-16 £1.62
Roads and transport
£123.50 of your bill goes to roads and transport at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £46.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £40.03
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Road and bridge maintenance £32.53
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Concessionary bus fares £24.31
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Winter service (gritting) £10.67
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Street lighting (including energy) £7.58
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Transport planning and policy £4.94
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Traffic management and road safety £3.44
Road and bridge maintenance
£32.53 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £12.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £20.26
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £12.27
Environment and regulation
£112.55 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £42.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste disposal £102.53
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Community safety and CCTV £5.99
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Trading standards £2.61
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £1.41
Running the council
£39.52 of your bill goes to running the council at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £14.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £12.89
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Corporate and democratic core £10.85
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Local welfare assistance £8.80
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Coroners' and other courts £5.41
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £0.71
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Emergency planning £0.59
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Collecting council tax and business rates £0.15
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Elections and electoral registration £0.10
Housing (not council homes)
£20.86 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £7.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Supporting People and welfare services £20.53
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Other General Fund housing £0.33
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. East Sussex County Council reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2025-26: 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.
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£16.76 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £6.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Libraries £12.74
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £3.09
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Tourism £0.53
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £0.41
Public health
£15.22 of your bill goes to public health at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £38.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Drug and alcohol services £3.73
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £3.41
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Sexual health £1.92
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Children's 5-19 programmes £1.36
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Public mental health £1.23
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NHS health checks and health protection £1.10
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £1.04
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Other public health £0.89
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Obesity and physical activity £0.54
Planning and development
£5.06 of your bill goes to planning and development at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £1.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £2.89
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Environmental initiatives £1.14
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Planning applications (development management) £1.03
East Sussex County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£37.26 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 East Sussex County Council's adult social care spending of £338.5m 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 £11.33
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Physical support £11.21
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Care assessment and safeguarding £4.03
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Mental health support £3.30
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.87
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.57
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.51
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Sensory support £0.22
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Information and early intervention £0.14
Learning disability support
£11.33 of your bill goes to learning disability support at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £103.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £10.13
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Aged 65 and over £1.20
Physical support
£11.21 of your bill goes to physical support at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £101.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £7.76
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Aged 18 to 64 £3.46
Support with memory and cognition
£4.08 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £37.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £3.72
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.36
Mental health support
£3.30 of your bill goes to mental health support at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £30.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £2.03
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Aged 65 and over £1.27
Sensory support
£0.22 of your bill goes to sensory support at East Sussex County Council. Here is how its £2.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.14
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Aged 65 and over £0.08
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 Hastings and East Sussex County Council 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) | £2.0m | £22 | £9.16 | — | down 5.5% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £164k | £1.81 | £7.42 | — | up 39.0% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £15k | £0.17 | £4.39 | — | up 114.3% on 2024-25 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £15k | £0.17 | £4.39 | — | up 114.3% on 2024-25 |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £9k | £0.10 | — | — | up 50.0% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £92k | £1.01 | £0.31 | — | up 46.0% on 2024-25 |
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| 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) | £152k | £0.27 | £1.55 | — | down 92.6% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £12.9m | £23 | £28 | £6,314 (similar: £5,441) | up 20.8% on 2024-25 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £4.9m | £8.66 | £18 | £2,382 (similar: £4,193) | up 25.2% on 2024-25 |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £8.0m | £14 | £3.54 | £3,932 (similar: £845) | up 18.3% on 2024-25 |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £4.2m | £7.53 | £4.67 | £2,070 (similar: £1,056) | up 3.4% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £3.0m | £5.35 | £6.56 | £1,471 (similar: £1,408) | down 3.6% 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 |
|---|---|---|
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £127 | £24 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £64 | £56 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £40 | £41 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £36 | £23 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £-7.96 | £-4.18 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £-36.32 | £22 |
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- Hastings spent 27.1% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for district councils in England: 39.3%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
EducationDetails for Education | £700 | £736 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £602 | £447 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £280 | £239 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £82 | £65 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £75 | £57 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £68 | £52 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £26 | £21 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £14 | £2.98 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £11 | £17 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £3.37 | £5.56 |
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- East Sussex County Council spent 27.8% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for county councils: 28.8%); 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 Hastings and everything else about Hastings.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Hastings?
- A Band D bill of £2,676.58 is split between Hastings, East Sussex County Council, East Sussex County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £905.49.
- 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.