In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in Leeds
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Leeds is £2,283.73 for 2026-27, split between Leeds £1,867.50, Leeds: adult social care precept, this year's increase £36.24, West Yorkshire Police £278.28, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority £89.49, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £12.22. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Leeds: £613.07 of the bill. Council tax pays for 16% 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
- £2,283.73Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,867.50Goes to Leeds itself (82%)
- £613.07Largest line: adult social care
- 16.0%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: £2,283.73
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Leeds £1,867.50
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West Yorkshire Police £278.28
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Parish and town councils (average for the area) £12.22
Leeds
£1,867.50 of your bill goes to Leeds. It is shared out below in proportion to how Leeds spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £613.07
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Children's social care £472.62
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Education £293.77
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Environment and regulation £182.55
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Running the council £75.99
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Housing (not council homes) £42.75
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Roads and transport £39.30
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Planning and development £26.13
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Public health £13.93
Other services brought in £25.2m more than it cost in 2025-26, so it takes no share of your bill.
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£633.5m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£53.7m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 metropolitan borough councils closest in population: Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool, Kirklees, Wakefield, Coventry, Sandwell. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£613.07 of your bill goes to adult social care at Leeds. Here is how its £343.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Learning disability support £229.31
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Physical support £147.44
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Care assessment and safeguarding £69.01
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Mental health support £66.72
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Information and early intervention £12.42
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Assistive equipment and technology £7.91
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £6.82
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Sensory support £2.09
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to adult social care came to £537.9m across 46,702 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Foster Care - Bacs: £23.2m (709 payments)
- Community Care Payments: £17.9m (10 payments)
- Aspire Community Benefit Society Limited: £17.9m (109 payments)
- Names withheld by the council: £16.8m (7688 payments)
- Aspire Services (Leeds) Limited: £14.4m (83 payments)
Learning disability support
£229.31 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Leeds. Here is how its £132.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £196.91
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Aged 65 and over £32.40
Physical support
£147.44 of your bill goes to physical support at Leeds. Here is how its £85.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £104.92
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Aged 18 to 64 £42.52
Support with memory and cognition
£71.35 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Leeds. Here is how its £41.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £59.33
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Aged 18 to 64 £12.03
Mental health support
£66.72 of your bill goes to mental health support at Leeds. Here is how its £38.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £49.15
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Aged 65 and over £17.56
Sensory support
£2.09 of your bill goes to sensory support at Leeds. Here is how its £1.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £1.31
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Aged 65 and over £0.77
Children's social care
£472.62 of your bill goes to children's social care at Leeds. Here is how its £265.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £270.70
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Safeguarding and social work £131.72
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Family support £35.79
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Children's centres and early years £18.91
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Services for young people £8.02
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Youth justice £3.01
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Asylum-seeking children £3.00
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Other children's and families' services £1.47
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to children's social care came to £6.0m across 191 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- North Tyneside Council: £587k (3 payments)
- Adoption West: £578k (5 payments)
- MOTT MACDONALD LIMITED: £533k (6 payments)
- Freud Communication Ltd: £516k (2 payments)
- Family Action: £458k (11 payments)
Education
£293.77 of your bill goes to education at Leeds. Here is how its £798.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £159.83
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Secondary schools £53.23
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Early years and nursery £44.98
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Other education £29.15
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Special schools and alternative provision £6.56
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Post-16 £0.02
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to education came to £4.5m across 116 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Allerton Grange School: £1.9m (5 payments)
- Wellspring Academy Trust: £1.4m (4 payments)
- White Rose Academies Trust: £299k (5 payments)
- The Co-Operative Academies Trust: £270k (2 payments)
- Horsforth School: £129k (1 payment)
Environment and regulation
£182.55 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Leeds. Here is how its £102.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste disposal £41.79
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Recycling and waste minimisation £37.88
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £32.88
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Waste collection £31.56
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Community safety and CCTV £20.57
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Street cleaning £9.69
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £3.46
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Other environmental services £2.59
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Trading standards £2.06
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Public toilets £0.06
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to environment and regulation came to £25.1m across 2,083 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Veolia ES Leeds Limited: £11.1m (20 payments)
- H W MARTIN WASTE LIMITED: £2.9m (12 payments)
- Associated Waste Management Limited T/a Panda: £2.4m (162 payments)
- Associated Waste Management Limited: £2.2m (153 payments)
- BIFFA WASTE SERVICES LTD: £908k (53 payments)
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£107.39 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Leeds. Here is how its £60.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £30.81
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Sport and leisure £29.77
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £24.23
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Libraries £20.38
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Tourism £1.57
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Community centres and public halls £0.54
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Other culture and leisure £0.11
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to parks, leisure, libraries and culture came to £6.0m across 1,489 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- BERMAR BUILDING COMPANY LTD: £789k (5 payments)
- GOUGH & KELLY LTD: £214k (41 payments)
- LEEDS THEATRE TRUST LTD: £194k (3 payments)
- Paul Holman Associates Ltd: £177k (10 payments)
- The Henry Moore Foundation: £146k (4 payments)
Running the council
£75.99 of your bill goes to running the council at Leeds. Here is how its £42.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £27.25
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Corporate and democratic core £21.75
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Local welfare assistance £15.77
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Collecting council tax and business rates £4.76
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Elections and electoral registration £3.20
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Coroners' and other courts £2.77
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Emergency planning £0.49
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to running the council came to £339.5m across 6,443 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Housing Benefit: £65.1m (48 payments)
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority: £62.1m (15 payments)
- Bradford Metropolitan Council: £51.6m (8 payments)
- Kirklees Council: £20.9m (10 payments)
- West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service: £16.1m (16 payments)
Housing (not council homes)
£42.75 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Leeds. Here is how its £24.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £18.12
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Supporting People and welfare services £15.33
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £6.52
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Private sector housing renewal £2.57
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Other General Fund housing £0.21
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to housing (not council homes) came to £26.3m across 3,336 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Emm Property Solutions Ltd: £6.2m (30 payments)
- R D Willis Properties: £3.9m (22 payments)
- Splendid Hotles Ltd TAs HolidayInnExp Leeds Eas: £1.4m (11 payments)
- Names withheld by the council: £788k (198 payments)
- Travelodge Gb0000: £714k (1138 payments)
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. Leeds's Housing Revenue Account took in £295.5m and spent £285.1m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Roads and transport
£39.30 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Leeds. Here is how its £22.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Street lighting (including energy) £29.54
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Transport planning and policy £4.69
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Traffic management and road safety £2.68
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Road and bridge maintenance £1.46
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Winter service (gritting) £0.93
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to roads and transport came to £82.2m across 10,392 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- TAY VALLEY LIGHTING ( LEEDS ) LTD: £11.8m (26 payments)
- John Sisk And Son Limited: £8.0m (16 payments)
- Balfour Beatty Group Limited: £6.7m (15 payments)
- Hinko Construction Ltd: £3.6m (44 payments)
- ENGIE Power Ltd: £3.3m (6 payments)
Planning and development
£26.13 of your bill goes to planning and development at Leeds. Here is how its £14.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £10.17
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Community development £6.73
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Planning applications (development management) £6.31
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Planning policy £2.13
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Building control £0.52
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Environmental initiatives £0.27
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to planning and development came to £18.4m across 915 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- BALFOUR BEATTY CIVIL ENGINEERING LIMITED: £5.6m (4 payments)
- Kier Construction Scotland: £2.1m (6 payments)
- Legal & General Pensions Limited: £1.4m (5 payments)
- Bruntwood Management Services Limited: £699k (1 payment)
- PARK SQUARE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LTD: £594k (5 payments)
Public health
£13.93 of your bill goes to public health at Leeds. Here is how its £61.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Drug and alcohol services £5.12
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £2.70
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Sexual health £1.95
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Other public health £1.39
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Children's 5-19 programmes £0.86
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.67
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.48
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Public mental health £0.41
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Obesity and physical activity £0.36
Named suppliers
In Leeds's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to public health came to £42.2m across 787 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Leeds Community Healthcare Nhs Trust: £16.9m (57 payments)
- Waythrough Support Services Limited: £16.9m (31 payments)
- NHS West Yorkshire ICB: £970k (6 payments)
- Care & Repair Leeds: £943k (12 payments)
- Reed Wellbeing Limited: £832k (6 payments)
Leeds: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£36.24 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 Leeds's adult social care spending of £343.8m 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 £13.56
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Physical support £8.72
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Care assessment and safeguarding £4.08
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Mental health support £3.94
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Information and early intervention £0.73
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.47
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.40
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Sensory support £0.12
Learning disability support
£13.56 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Leeds. Here is how its £132.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £11.64
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Aged 65 and over £1.92
Physical support
£8.72 of your bill goes to physical support at Leeds. Here is how its £85.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £6.20
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Aged 18 to 64 £2.51
Support with memory and cognition
£4.22 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Leeds. Here is how its £41.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £3.51
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.71
Mental health support
£3.94 of your bill goes to mental health support at Leeds. Here is how its £38.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £2.91
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Aged 65 and over £1.04
Sensory support
£0.12 of your bill goes to sensory support at Leeds. Here is how its £1.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.08
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Aged 65 and over £0.05
West Yorkshire Police
£278.28 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 West Yorkshire Police's adult social care spending of £653.2m 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.
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
£89.49 of your bill goes to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Fire and rescue £88.03
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Running the council £1.46
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority, Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority, Devon and Somerset Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Lancashire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority, South Wales Fire Authority, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£88.03 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £109.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £83.26
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Community fire safety £4.78
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Leeds 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) | £17.3m | £21 | £10 | — | up 5.7% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £5.6m | £6.65 | £17 | £3,125 (similar: £9,980) | up 4.6% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £1.1m | £1.32 | £18 | £620 (similar: £9,458) | down 49.1% on 2024-25 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £2.2m | £2.61 | £12 | £1,226 (similar: £6,112) | down 23.1% on 2024-25 |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | −£1.1m | £-1.29 | £3.38 | £-606.00 (similar: £595) | — |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £708k | £0.84 | £2.99 | £396 (similar: £1,246) | down 52.5% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £22.5m | £27 | £11 | £12,557 (similar: £7,140) | up 3.7% 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 | £950 | £869 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £409 | £482 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £315 | £340 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £122 | £92 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £73 | £93 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £72 | £49 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £51 | £60 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £29 | £39 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £26 | £29 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £17 | £29 |
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Other servicesDetails for Other services | £-30.00 | £0.52 |
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- Leeds spent 36.8% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for metropolitan borough councils: 33.6%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
- Its published payments of £500 or more came to £1.65bn between 2025-07 and 2026-06. These include capital and council housing spending, so they are not a share of the figures above.
- Payments we classify as consultancy and agency staff came to 0.9% of its staff costs (median among the 3 other metropolitan borough councils whose £500 data is read: 9.6%). The two come from different sources and periods, so this is a guide to scale, not an exact share.
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 Leeds and everything else about Leeds.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Leeds?
- A Band D bill of £2,283.73 is split between Leeds, Leeds: adult social care precept, this year's increase, West Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £613.07.
- 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.