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Where your council tax goes in Leicester
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Leicester is £2,528.75 for 2026-27, split between Leicester £2,081.46, Leicester: adult social care precept, this year's increase £40.41, Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £315.23, Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority £91.65. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Leicester: £794.44 of the bill. Council tax pays for 14% 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
- £2,528.75Band D bill, 2026-27
- £2,081.46Goes to Leicester itself (82%)
- £794.44Largest line: adult social care
- 14.3%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: £2,528.75
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Leicester £2,081.46
Leicester
£2,081.46 of your bill goes to Leicester. It is shared out below in proportion to how Leicester City spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £794.44
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Children's social care £431.43
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Education £319.92
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Environment and regulation £140.56
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Housing (not council homes) £123.73
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Running the council £89.39
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Roads and transport £62.26
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Planning and development £32.90
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Public health £19.32
Other services brought in £6.7m 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 (£270.7m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£32.3m) 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: North Northamptonshire, Dorset, Cheshire West and Chester, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, East Riding of Yorkshire, Cheshire East, Northumberland, Shropshire, West Northamptonshire, Nottingham City. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£794.44 of your bill goes to adult social care at Leicester City. Here is how its £210.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Physical support £255.21
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Learning disability support £221.55
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Mental health support £130.69
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Care assessment and safeguarding £67.17
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £66.12
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £13.33
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Sensory support £5.22
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Information and early intervention £2.81
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Assistive equipment and technology £1.71
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to adult social care came to £150.2m across 43,142 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Medequip Assistive Technology Ltd: £5.4m (16 payments)
- Lifeways Community Care Ltd FA SL&FSB: £4.4m (1058 payments)
- Community Integrated Care FA SL&FSB: £4.2m (524 payments)
- Carers Direct Homecare Ltd: £3.9m (1841 payments)
- Aspire UK: £3.7m (2093 payments)
Physical support
£255.21 of your bill goes to physical support at Leicester City. Here is how its £67.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £196.24
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Aged 18 to 64 £58.97
Learning disability support
£221.55 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Leicester City. Here is how its £58.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £186.94
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Aged 65 and over £34.61
Mental health support
£130.69 of your bill goes to mental health support at Leicester City. Here is how its £34.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £83.10
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Aged 65 and over £47.59
Support with memory and cognition
£30.64 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Leicester City. Here is how its £8.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £26.39
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Aged 18 to 64 £4.25
Sensory support
£5.22 of your bill goes to sensory support at Leicester City. Here is how its £1.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £2.85
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Aged 18 to 64 £2.38
Children's social care
£431.43 of your bill goes to children's social care at Leicester City. Here is how its £114.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £272.36
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Safeguarding and social work £93.53
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Family support £26.34
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Children's centres and early years £21.69
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Services for young people £8.87
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Youth justice £8.62
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to children's social care came to £161.3m across 15,084 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Platform Childcare Ltd: £3.5m (185 payments)
- Nylah Homes Ltd: £3.1m (665 payments)
- DSAT Millgate School Academy: £3.0m (11 payments)
- The Herewoode Academy: £3.0m (9 payments)
- Leicester BSF Company 1 Ltd: £2.9m (19 payments)
Education
£319.92 of your bill goes to education at Leicester City. Here is how its £355.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £117.45
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Secondary schools £69.40
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Special schools and alternative provision £62.36
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Early years and nursery £40.72
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Other education £24.62
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Post-16 £5.37
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to education came to £1.1m across 175 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Centrebus Ltd: £649k (36 payments)
- Leicester Citybus Ltd t/a First bus group: £114k (8 payments)
- Roberts Tours Ltd: £72k (4 payments)
- Living Streets (The Pedestrian Association): £42k (6 payments)
- Arriva Midlands Ltd: £36k (5 payments)
Environment and regulation
£140.56 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Leicester City. Here is how its £37.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste disposal £49.05
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Waste collection £48.75
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Street cleaning £19.18
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Community safety and CCTV £10.13
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £6.70
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Trading standards £3.83
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Recycling and waste minimisation £1.42
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Public toilets £0.97
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.53
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to environment and regulation came to £2.8m across 265 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Biffa Waste Services Ltd: £2.3m (62 payments)
- T Watts Waste Ltd: £240k (44 payments)
- Central Construction Services Ltd: £80k (79 payments)
- ENVA England Ltd: £60k (50 payments)
- Rider Levett Bucknall (UK) Ltd: £29k (2 payments)
Housing (not council homes)
£123.73 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Leicester City. Here is how its £32.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £111.19
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £5.43
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Supporting People and welfare services £5.11
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £1.47
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Other General Fund housing £0.54
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to housing (not council homes) came to £5.1m across 339 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Gap Property Services (Leicester) Ltd: £1.2m (41 payments)
- EVM Direct Limited: £974k (10 payments)
- Premier Mobility UK Ltd: £489k (43 payments)
- Uk Gas Services Ltd: £422k (3 payments)
- CASTILIAN 2 LTD T/A TREKA BUS LTD: £327k (4 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. Leicester City's Housing Revenue Account took in £104.3m and spent £109.9m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Running the council
£89.39 of your bill goes to running the council at Leicester City. Here is how its £23.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Collecting council tax and business rates £24.98
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Corporate and democratic core £22.74
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Coroners' and other courts £17.12
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £14.82
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Elections and electoral registration £5.25
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Emergency planning £3.47
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £1.01
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to running the council came to £41.3m across 2,570 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Leicester BSF Company 2 Ltd: £5.9m (41 payments)
- Leicester BSF Company 1 Ltd: £5.6m (50 payments)
- Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd: £3.9m (47 payments)
- ARTHUR J GALLAGHER INSURANCE BROKERS LTD: £2.4m (17 payments)
- Freeths LLP: £2.4m (366 payments)
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£67.50 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Leicester City. Here is how its £17.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £21.07
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £20.26
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Community centres and public halls £15.18
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Sport and leisure £5.38
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Libraries £4.96
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Tourism £0.64
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to parks, leisure, libraries and culture came to £4.2m across 185 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- GEDA Construction Company Ltd: £3.5m (9 payments)
- Clegg Construction Limited: £116k (1 payment)
- TAD Ltd t/a The Art Department: £106k (14 payments)
- New Parks Adventure Playground: £103k (2 payments)
- Hags-SMP Ltd: £43k (1 payment)
Roads and transport
£62.26 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Leicester City. Here is how its £16.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Concessionary bus fares £24.90
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £9.19
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Traffic management and road safety £7.81
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Street lighting (including energy) £7.75
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Transport planning and policy £4.86
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Winter service (gritting) £0.48
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to roads and transport came to £5.7m across 515 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Holcim UK Limited: £1.4m (8 payments)
- Danaher & Walsh (C E ) Ltd: £1.1m (23 payments)
- Swarco UK & Ireland Ltd: £510k (4 payments)
- Fletch Electrical Ltd: £453k (9 payments)
- Amey OW Limited: £406k (20 payments)
Road and bridge maintenance
£7.27 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Leicester City. Here is how its £2.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £6.22
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £1.05
Planning and development
£32.90 of your bill goes to planning and development at Leicester City. Here is how its £8.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £13.76
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Planning applications (development management) £10.94
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Community development £5.11
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Building control £2.43
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Environmental initiatives £0.47
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Planning policy £0.20
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to planning and development came to £49k across 45 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- PortalPlanQuest limited: £48k (43 payments)
- Refunds - Planning Application Fees: £1k (1 payment)
- Refunds - Building Regulations Fees: £1k (1 payment)
Public health
£19.32 of your bill goes to public health at Leicester City. Here is how its £37.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £5.57
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Drug and alcohol services £5.23
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Obesity and physical activity £3.10
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Sexual health £2.08
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Children's 5-19 programmes £1.36
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.64
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.60
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Public mental health £0.60
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Other public health £0.15
Named suppliers
In Leicester's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to public health came to £9.8m across 472 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Turning Point Services Ltd FA SL&FSB: £4.7m (23 payments)
- Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust: £1.4m (6 payments)
- Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust: £902k (9 payments)
- Voluntary Action Leicester: £299k (4 payments)
- Home Group Ltd: £295k (19 payments)
Leicester: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£40.41 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 Leicester City's adult social care spending of £210.5m 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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Physical support £12.98
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Learning disability support £11.27
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Mental health support £6.65
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Care assessment and safeguarding £3.42
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £3.36
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.68
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Sensory support £0.27
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Information and early intervention £0.14
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.09
Physical support
£12.98 of your bill goes to physical support at Leicester City. Here is how its £67.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £9.98
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Aged 18 to 64 £3.00
Learning disability support
£11.27 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Leicester City. Here is how its £58.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £9.51
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Aged 65 and over £1.76
Mental health support
£6.65 of your bill goes to mental health support at Leicester City. Here is how its £34.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £4.23
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Aged 65 and over £2.42
Support with memory and cognition
£1.56 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Leicester City. Here is how its £8.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £1.34
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.22
Sensory support
£0.27 of your bill goes to sensory support at Leicester City. Here is how its £1.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £0.14
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.12
Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£315.23 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 Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £278.2m 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.
Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority
£91.65 of your bill goes to Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2024-25, its latest published return.
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Fire and rescue £51.75
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Running the council £39.90
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority, Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Nottinghamshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Cheshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Avon Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Derbyshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Berkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Humberside Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Cambridgeshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£51.75 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £27.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £44.50
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Community fire safety £6.21
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Fire emergency planning £1.04
Running the council
£39.90 of your bill goes to running the council at Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £21.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other central services £38.88
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Corporate and democratic core £1.02
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Leicester City 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) | £5.4m | £14 | £16 | — | down 21.3% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £5.2m | £14 | £8.92 | £10,035 (similar: £2,423) | down 3.1% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £2.5m | £6.52 | £18 | £4,815 (similar: £5,042) | down 3.1% on 2024-25 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £360k | £0.94 | £9.57 | £694 (similar: £2,684) | down 1.6% on 2024-25 |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £2.1m | £5.58 | £6.79 | £4,121 (similar: £1,902) | down 3.3% on 2024-25 |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £164k | £0.43 | £2.84 | £316 (similar: £665) | up 14.7% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £2.7m | £6.96 | £8.83 | £5,135 (similar: £1,933) | down 23.4% 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 | £928 | £712 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £549 | £478 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £298 | £309 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £98 | £64 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £97 | £111 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £86 | £33 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £62 | £51 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £47 | £38 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £43 | £49 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £23 | £21 |
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Other servicesDetails for Other services | £-17.37 | £10 |
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- Leicester City spent 37.3% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for unitary councils in England: 31.1%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
- Its published payments of £500 or more came to £521.7m between 2025-09 and 2026-08. 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 4.4% of its staff costs (median among the 6 other unitary councils in England whose £500 data is read: 7.4%). 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 Leicester and everything else about Leicester.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Leicester?
- A Band D bill of £2,528.75 is split between Leicester, Leicester: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £794.44.
- 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.