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Where your council tax goes in Isles of Scilly
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Isles of Scilly is £2,047.96 for 2026-27, split between Isles of Scilly £1,711.53, Isles of Scilly: adult social care precept, this year's increase £33.23, Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £303.20. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is education at Isles of Scilly: £321.15 of the bill. Council tax pays for 13% 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
- £2,047.96Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,711.53Goes to Isles of Scilly itself (84%)
- £321.15Largest line: education
- 12.6%Of the council's money that comes from council tax, 2024-25
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: £2,047.96
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Isles of Scilly £1,711.53
Isles of Scilly
£1,711.53 of your bill goes to Isles of Scilly. It is shared out below in proportion to how Isles of Scilly spent its money in 2024-25, its latest published return.
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Education £321.15
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Adult social care £318.02
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Environment and regulation £300.02
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Running the council £187.49
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Children's social care £167.15
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Roads and transport £143.20
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Fire and rescue £141.32
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Planning and development £52.59
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Public health £0.47
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Other services £0.31
Before sharing out your bill, the part of public health paid for by the public health grant (£142k) 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: Rutland, Hartlepool, Darlington, Halton, Bracknell Forest, Torbay, Redcar and Cleveland, Isle of Wight, Blackpool, Middlesbrough. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Education
£321.15 of your bill goes to education at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £2.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other education £146.80
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Early years and nursery £93.12
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Post-16 £81.23
Adult social care
£318.02 of your bill goes to adult social care at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £2.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Physical support £166.68
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Care assessment and safeguarding £12.99
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Sensory support £11.11
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Mental health support £9.70
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Information and early intervention £9.23
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £8.29
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Learning disability support £4.54
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Assistive equipment and technology £3.76
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £2.82
Physical support
£166.68 of your bill goes to physical support at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £1.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £141.95
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Aged 18 to 64 £24.73
Support with memory and cognition
£88.89 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £568k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £87.96
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.94
Sensory support
£11.11 of your bill goes to sensory support at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £71k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £10.80
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.31
Mental health support
£9.70 of your bill goes to mental health support at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £62k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £9.39
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.31
Environment and regulation
£300.02 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £1.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste collection £66.67
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £62.76
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Waste disposal £49.92
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £34.59
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Recycling and waste minimisation £33.18
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Other environmental services £22.85
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Trade waste £16.75
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Public toilets £12.83
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Cemeteries and crematoria £0.47
Running the council
£187.49 of your bill goes to running the council at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £1.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £169.98
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Other central services £7.35
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Elections and electoral registration £5.94
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £4.22
Children's social care
£167.15 of your bill goes to children's social care at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £1.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Safeguarding and social work £117.22
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Other children's and families' services £35.21
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Children looked after £11.74
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Family support £2.97
Roads and transport
£143.20 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £915k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other transport (airports, harbours, tolls) £76.84
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Transport planning and policy £35.06
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Road and bridge maintenance £31.30
Fire and rescue
£141.32 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £903k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Community fire safety £97.81
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Firefighting and rescue £41.79
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Fire emergency planning £1.72
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£74.65 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £477k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Sport and leisure £51.02
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £10.64
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Libraries £10.17
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £2.82
Planning and development
£52.59 of your bill goes to planning and development at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £336k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Planning applications (development management) £30.80
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Economic development and business support £21.78
Housing (not council homes)
£5.17 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £33k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £4.27
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Supporting People and welfare services £0.89
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. Isles of Scilly reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2024-25: 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.
Public health
£0.47 of your bill goes to public health at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £145k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £0.16
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Drug and alcohol services £0.07
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Children's 5-19 programmes £0.06
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Sexual health £0.05
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Public mental health £0.04
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.04
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.02
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Other public health £0.02
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Obesity and physical activity £0.02
Isles of Scilly: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£33.23 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 Isles of Scilly's adult social care spending of £2.0m divided in 2024-25. 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 £17.42
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Care assessment and safeguarding £1.36
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Sensory support £1.16
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Mental health support £1.01
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Information and early intervention £0.96
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £0.87
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Learning disability support £0.47
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.39
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.29
Physical support
£17.42 of your bill goes to physical support at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £1.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £14.83
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Aged 18 to 64 £2.58
Support with memory and cognition
£9.29 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £568k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £9.19
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.10
Sensory support
£1.16 of your bill goes to sensory support at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £71k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £1.13
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.03
Mental health support
£1.01 of your bill goes to mental health support at Isles of Scilly. Here is how its £62k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £0.98
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.03
Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£303.20 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 Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £474.7m 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.
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Isles of Scilly 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) | £68k | £30 | £16 | — | up 151.9% on 2023-24 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £200k | £87 | £20 | £9,524 (similar: £6,925) | up 40.8% on 2023-24 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £200k | £87 | £15 | £9,524 (similar: £5,113) | up 40.8% on 2023-24 |
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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 | £893 | £712 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £884 | £478 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £834 | £110 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £521 | £51 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £465 | £300 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £398 | £49 |
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Fire and rescueDetails for Fire and rescue | £393 | £68 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £207 | £38 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £146 | £21 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £63 | £65 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £14 | £34 |
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Other servicesDetails for Other services | £0.87 | £10 |
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- Isles of Scilly spent 41.3% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2024-25 (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 Isles of Scilly and everything else about Isles of Scilly.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Isles of Scilly?
- A Band D bill of £2,047.96 is split between Isles of Scilly, Isles of Scilly: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable. In proportion to spending, the largest line is education, £321.15.
- 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.