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Where your council tax goes in Liverpool
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Liverpool is £2,673.59 for 2026-27, split between Liverpool £2,211.43, Liverpool: adult social care precept, this year's increase £42.94, Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £293.97, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority £101.25, The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority £24.00. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Liverpool: £810.70 of the bill. Council tax pays for 12% 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
- £2,673.59Band D bill, 2026-27
- £2,211.43Goes to Liverpool itself (83%)
- £810.70Largest line: adult social care
- 12.3%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: £2,673.59
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Liverpool £2,211.43
Liverpool
£2,211.43 of your bill goes to Liverpool. It is shared out below in proportion to how Liverpool spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £810.70
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Children's social care £513.72
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Education £338.98
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Housing (not council homes) £161.88
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Environment and regulation £120.66
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Planning and development £61.92
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Running the council £52.86
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Roads and transport £27.07
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Public health £12.26
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Other services £0.36
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£457.3m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£53.2m) 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: Bradford, Kirklees, Sheffield, Sheffield, Manchester, Wakefield, Coventry, Sandwell, Wigan, Dudley. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£810.70 of your bill goes to adult social care at Liverpool. Here is how its £308.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Physical support £287.67
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Learning disability support £223.83
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Mental health support £119.17
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Care assessment and safeguarding £55.39
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £27.91
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Information and early intervention £12.50
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Assistive equipment and technology £11.02
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Sensory support £7.10
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £4.40
Named suppliers
In Liverpool's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to adult social care came to £343.0m across 112,996 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Names withheld by the council: £23.5m (12566 payments)
- MERSEY CARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST: £15.9m (30 payments)
- AUTISM INITIATIVES: £13.2m (5723 payments)
- COMMUNITY INTEGRATED CARE: £11.9m (3108 payments)
- CHANGE GROW LIVE SERVICES LTD: £11.4m (17 payments)
Physical support
£287.67 of your bill goes to physical support at Liverpool. Here is how its £109.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £169.93
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Aged 18 to 64 £117.74
Learning disability support
£223.83 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Liverpool. Here is how its £85.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £203.05
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Aged 65 and over £20.78
Mental health support
£119.17 of your bill goes to mental health support at Liverpool. Here is how its £45.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £92.12
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Aged 65 and over £27.05
Support with memory and cognition
£61.71 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Liverpool. Here is how its £23.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £56.77
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Aged 18 to 64 £4.94
Sensory support
£7.10 of your bill goes to sensory support at Liverpool. Here is how its £2.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £4.95
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Aged 65 and over £2.16
Children's social care
£513.72 of your bill goes to children's social care at Liverpool. Here is how its £195.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £291.04
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Safeguarding and social work £87.56
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Other children's and families' services £48.44
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Family support £42.60
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Children's centres and early years £17.70
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Youth justice £10.51
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Asylum-seeking children £8.25
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Services for young people £7.62
Named suppliers
In Liverpool'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 £150.1m across 23,742 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- LIVERPOOL SCHOOLS SERVICES LTD VARI: £17.5m (138 payments)
- MATRIX SCM LTD: £10.2m (7809 payments)
- Names withheld by the council: £5.8m (2479 payments)
- BIRTENSHAW MERSEYSIDE: £3.2m (553 payments)
- ROYAL SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND: £2.3m (659 payments)
Education
£338.98 of your bill goes to education at Liverpool. Here is how its £586.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £154.20
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Secondary schools £61.60
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Special schools and alternative provision £46.86
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Early years and nursery £44.43
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Other education £28.48
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Post-16 £3.42
Named suppliers
In Liverpool's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to education came to £11.9m across 274 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- ROBERTSON CONSTRUCTION NORTH WEST L: £2.6m (9 payments)
- SEDDON CONSTRUCTION LTD: £2.1m (14 payments)
- THE LIVERPOOL JOINT CATHOLIC AND CH: £1.6m (6 payments)
- KROL CORLETT CONSTRUCTION LTD: £1.1m (19 payments)
- ARCHDIOCESE OF LIVERPOOL: £887k (3 payments)
Housing (not council homes)
£161.88 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Liverpool. Here is how its £61.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £125.00
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Supporting People and welfare services £28.69
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £4.99
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £3.05
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Other General Fund housing £0.16
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. Liverpool 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
£120.66 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Liverpool. Here is how its £45.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Street cleaning £50.76
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Waste collection £43.13
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Community safety and CCTV £9.21
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £9.17
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Recycling and waste minimisation £5.85
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Cemeteries and crematoria £2.38
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Trading standards £0.15
Named suppliers
In Liverpool's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to environment and regulation came to £26.8m across 79 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- MERSEYSIDE WASTE DISPOSAL AUTHORITY: £26.1m (9 payments)
- LIVERPOOL STREETSCENE SERVICES LIMI: £400k (9 payments)
- ST HELENS MBC: £91k (2 payments)
- SED SERVICES LTD: £61k (8 payments)
- KIRKBY SKIPS LTD: £33k (14 payments)
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£111.03 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Liverpool. Here is how its £42.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Sport and leisure £40.81
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Libraries £36.76
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £22.40
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £9.83
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Tourism £1.22
Named suppliers
In Liverpool'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 £1.6m across 209 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- NHS CHESHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE ICB: £1.2m (1 payment)
- PETERS LTD: £63k (23 payments)
- OVERDRIVE INC: £41k (13 payments)
- BOLINDA UK LTD: £37k (28 payments)
- CASS DESIGN CONSULTANTS LTD: £34k (10 payments)
Planning and development
£61.92 of your bill goes to planning and development at Liverpool. Here is how its £23.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £35.98
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Community development £12.67
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Planning policy £4.34
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Planning applications (development management) £3.39
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Environmental initiatives £3.37
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Building control £2.17
Running the council
£52.86 of your bill goes to running the council at Liverpool. Here is how its £20.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £32.11
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Collecting council tax and business rates £8.97
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Local welfare assistance £4.90
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Coroners' and other courts £3.08
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Other central services £1.51
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Elections and electoral registration £1.22
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £0.68
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Emergency planning £0.38
Named suppliers
In Liverpool's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to running the council came to £58.0m across 2,854 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTH: £33.6m (9 payments)
- MERSEYSIDE PENSION FUND: £3.0m (19 payments)
- MHCLG: £3.0m (1 payment)
- Names withheld by the council: £2.1m (285 payments)
- CITIZENS ADVICE LIVERPOOL: £2.0m (2 payments)
Roads and transport
£27.07 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Liverpool. Here is how its £10.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Road and bridge maintenance £13.04
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Street lighting (including energy) £9.85
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Transport planning and policy £2.23
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Traffic management and road safety £1.24
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Winter service (gritting) £0.70
Named suppliers
In Liverpool's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to roads and transport came to £26.9m across 1,390 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- A1 TAXIS (FIRMDIAL LTD/RAREHIRE LTD: £5.1m (21 payments)
- COMPUTER CAB (LIVERPOOL) LTD: £5.0m (60 payments)
- NORTHWEST TRAVELS LTD: £1.9m (120 payments)
- MUNI-SERV (HIRE) LTD: £1.8m (68 payments)
- RTTS TRAVEL LTD: £1.5m (11 payments)
Road and bridge maintenance
£13.04 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Liverpool. Here is how its £8.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £7.97
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £5.07
Named suppliers
In Liverpool's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to road and bridge maintenance came to £3.3m across 32 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- HUYTON ASPHALT LTD: £971k (8 payments)
- LIVERPOOL STREETSCENE SERVICES LIMI: £787k (6 payments)
- J MCCANN & CO LTD: £773k (6 payments)
- DOWHIGH LTD: £714k (8 payments)
- YUNEX LTD: £91k (1 payment)
Public health
£12.26 of your bill goes to public health at Liverpool. Here is how its £57.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Drug and alcohol services £4.16
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £2.61
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Other public health £2.25
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Sexual health £1.71
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Children's 5-19 programmes £0.57
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.39
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.26
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Obesity and physical activity £0.20
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Public mental health £0.12
Liverpool: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£42.94 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how Liverpool's adult social care spending of £308.6m 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 £15.24
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Learning disability support £11.86
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Mental health support £6.31
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Care assessment and safeguarding £2.93
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.48
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Information and early intervention £0.66
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.58
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Sensory support £0.38
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.23
Physical support
£15.24 of your bill goes to physical support at Liverpool. Here is how its £109.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £9.00
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Aged 18 to 64 £6.24
Learning disability support
£11.86 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Liverpool. Here is how its £85.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £10.75
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Aged 65 and over £1.10
Mental health support
£6.31 of your bill goes to mental health support at Liverpool. Here is how its £45.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £4.88
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Aged 65 and over £1.43
Support with memory and cognition
£3.27 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Liverpool. Here is how its £23.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £3.01
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.26
Sensory support
£0.38 of your bill goes to sensory support at Liverpool. Here is how its £2.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.26
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Aged 65 and over £0.11
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£293.97 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 Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £495.9m 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.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority
£101.25 of your bill goes to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Fire and rescue £100.01
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Running the council £1.24
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, South Wales Fire Authority, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Lancashire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Avon Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Nottinghamshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Devon and Somerset Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£100.01 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £63.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £88.23
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Community fire safety £11.78
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
£24.00 of your bill goes to The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Roads and transport £15.65
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Education £4.36
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Planning and development £3.25
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Running the council £0.41
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Housing (not council homes) £0.29
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. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority 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.
No similar-council comparison: no comparison: no other body does the same mix of things.
Roads and transport
£15.65 of your bill goes to roads and transport at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £265.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £12.61
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Concessionary bus fares £2.19
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Transport planning and policy £0.85
Education
£4.36 of your bill goes to education at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £74.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other education £4.28
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Secondary schools £0.04
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Post-16 £0.04
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Primary schools £0.00
Planning and development
£3.25 of your bill goes to planning and development at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £55.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £2.29
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Environmental initiatives £0.48
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Community development £0.44
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Planning policy £0.04
Running the council
£0.41 of your bill goes to running the council at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £7.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £0.36
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Other central services £0.05
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£0.05 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £803k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £0.04
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Tourism £0.00
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Liverpool 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) | £3.7m | £7.37 | £13 | — | up 69.7% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £19.4m | £38 | £14 | £21,814 (similar: £7,079) | up 17.8% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £8.9m | £18 | £16 | £10,001 (similar: £8,663) | up 14.6% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £5.4m | £11 | £12 | £6,112 (similar: £6,059) | up 16.2% on 2024-25 |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £3.5m | £6.82 | £1.27 | £3,889 (similar: £514) | up 12.2% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £480k | £0.95 | £3.06 | £539 (similar: £1,282) | down 20.9% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £6.7m | £13 | £10 | £7,552 (similar: £4,914) | up 15.9% 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 | £1,154 | £869 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £608 | £480 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £385 | £337 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £121 | £39 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £114 | £88 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £90 | £93 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £83 | £49 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £46 | £28 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £40 | £60 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £20 | £29 |
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Other servicesDetails for Other services | £0.27 | £0.52 |
| ||
- Liverpool spent 33.6% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for metropolitan borough councils: 34.4%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
- Its published payments of £500 or more came to £850.2m 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 8.6% 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 Liverpool and everything else about Liverpool.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Liverpool?
- A Band D bill of £2,673.59 is split between Liverpool, Liverpool: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority, The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £810.70.
- 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.