In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in North Yorkshire
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in North Yorkshire is £2,544.34 for 2026-27, split between North Yorkshire £1,997.53, North Yorkshire: adult social care precept, this year's increase £38.79, North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £335.86, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority £116.62, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £55.54. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at North Yorkshire: £839.32 of the bill. Council tax pays for 30% 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
- £2,544.34Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,997.53Goes to North Yorkshire itself (79%)
- £839.32Largest line: adult social care
- 30.1%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: £2,544.34
-
North Yorkshire £1,997.53
-
Parish and town councils (average for the area) £55.54
North Yorkshire
£1,997.53 of your bill goes to North Yorkshire. It is shared out below in proportion to how North Yorkshire spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Adult social care £839.32
-
Education £268.72
-
Children's social care £253.84
-
Environment and regulation £247.01
-
Running the council £98.63
-
Roads and transport £95.65
-
Housing (not council homes) £49.16
-
Planning and development £46.29
-
Public health £4.26
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£360.7m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£26.0m) 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: Somerset, Cornwall, Buckinghamshire, Durham, Wiltshire, Bristol, West Northamptonshire, Cheshire East, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Dorset. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£839.32 of your bill goes to adult social care at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £322.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Physical support £328.86
-
Learning disability support £192.94
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £156.94
-
Mental health support £44.96
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £26.52
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £19.55
-
Sensory support £15.73
-
Assistive equipment and technology £7.15
-
Information and early intervention £3.06
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to adult social care came to £165.7m across 16,680 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Names withheld by the council: £19.5m (6915 payments)
- WILF WARD FAMILY TRUST: £8.7m (70 payments)
- HARROGATE & DISTRICT NHS FOUNDATION TRUST: £8.6m (10 payments)
- MEDEQUIP: £7.0m (32 payments)
- NORTHERN LIFE CARE LTD (UBU): £6.0m (39 payments)
Physical support
£328.86 of your bill goes to physical support at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £126.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £302.46
-
Aged 18 to 64 £26.40
Learning disability support
£192.94 of your bill goes to learning disability support at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £74.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £163.20
-
Aged 65 and over £29.73
Mental health support
£44.96 of your bill goes to mental health support at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £17.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £28.27
-
Aged 18 to 64 £16.70
Support with memory and cognition
£43.62 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £16.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £43.06
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.56
Sensory support
£15.73 of your bill goes to sensory support at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £6.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £11.19
-
Aged 18 to 64 £4.54
Education
£268.72 of your bill goes to education at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £463.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Primary schools £88.60
-
Early years and nursery £53.23
-
Other education £45.15
-
Secondary schools £41.48
-
Special schools and alternative provision £31.23
-
Post-16 £9.03
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to education came to £1.8m across 544 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- XMA LTD: £595k (223 payments)
- NYNET LTD: £363k (38 payments)
- EVERYTHING ICT TRADING NAME OF WCL (UK) LTD: £197k (24 payments)
- CRAYON LTD: £124k (9 payments)
- SMOOTHWALL: £114k (15 payments)
Children's social care
£253.84 of your bill goes to children's social care at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £97.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Children looked after £135.83
-
Family support £50.12
-
Safeguarding and social work £44.23
-
Services for young people £16.83
-
Children's centres and early years £3.56
-
Youth justice £3.26
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire'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 £112.6m across 21,514 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Names withheld by the council: £16.2m (6660 payments)
- THE ASCENT ACADEMIES' TRUST (MOWBRAY SCHOOL): £4.7m (15 payments)
- MADIBA LTD: £3.0m (31 payments)
- THE FOREST SCHOOL: £2.3m (15 payments)
- TOM WILLOUGHBY LTD: £2.2m (62 payments)
Environment and regulation
£247.01 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £94.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Waste disposal £84.41
-
Waste collection £78.61
-
Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £23.61
-
Street cleaning £19.68
-
Community safety and CCTV £14.86
-
Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £10.65
-
Recycling and waste minimisation £6.57
-
Trading standards £4.01
-
Public toilets £3.01
-
Other environmental services £1.62
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to environment and regulation came to £4.4m across 418 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- YORWASTE LTD: £1.9m (64 payments)
- SSCL (ENVIRONMENT AGENCY): £1.0m (2 payments)
- NORTH EASTERN INSHORE FISHERIES & CONSERVATION AUTHORITY: £392k (1 payment)
- R H FULLWOOD & CO LTD: £350k (2 payments)
- PERSONNEL HYGIENE SERVICES LTD: £99k (88 payments)
Running the council
£98.63 of your bill goes to running the council at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £37.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Other central services £24.49
-
Local welfare assistance £23.44
-
Corporate and democratic core £21.14
-
Collecting council tax and business rates £17.36
-
Elections and electoral registration £4.12
-
Coroners' and other courts £3.83
-
Emergency planning £2.93
-
Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £0.72
-
Registering births, deaths and marriages £0.60
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to running the council came to £83.2m across 11,175 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- WILLMOTT DIXON CONSTRUCTION LTD: £14.8m (19 payments)
- EDF ENERGY: £5.1m (407 payments)
- MATRIX SCM LTD: £4.3m (49 payments)
- CRAYON LTD: £3.8m (24 payments)
- HCS MECHANICAL SERVICES: £2.4m (442 payments)
Roads and transport
£95.65 of your bill goes to roads and transport at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £36.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Road and bridge maintenance £37.84
-
Support for bus, rail and other public transport £20.20
-
Concessionary bus fares £15.22
-
Winter service (gritting) £13.60
-
Street lighting (including energy) £7.00
-
Traffic management and road safety £1.80
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to roads and transport came to £107.9m across 3,738 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- NY HIGHWAYS LIMITED: £44.8m (6 payments)
- JOHN SISK & SON (HOLDINGS) LTD: £21.5m (12 payments)
- DENNIS EAGLE LTD: £5.5m (112 payments)
- EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD: £5.4m (290 payments)
- HARROGATE & DISTRICT TRAVEL: £3.4m (132 payments)
Road and bridge maintenance
£37.84 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £21.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £30.15
-
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £7.69
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire'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 £47k across 12 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Names withheld by the council: £16k (7 payments)
- ALIGN PROPERTY SERVICES LTD: £13k (2 payments)
- ACROSPIRE SOLUTIONS LTD: £12k (1 payment)
- NORTHERN POWERGRID (NORTHEAST) LTD: £6k (2 payments)
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£94.65 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £36.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £34.61
-
Sport and leisure £18.61
-
Libraries £16.81
-
Museums, arts, heritage and archives £16.31
-
Tourism £7.34
-
Other culture and leisure £0.74
-
Community centres and public halls £0.21
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire'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 £5.3m across 1,374 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- WILLMOTT DIXON CONSTRUCTION LTD: £657k (3 payments)
- BCS RENDER SYSTEMS LTD: £325k (5 payments)
- ASKEWS & HOLTS LIBRARY SERVICES LTD: £280k (394 payments)
- LIVE NATION(MUSIC) UK LTD T/A CUFFE & TAYLOR: £235k (28 payments)
- TOCKWITH WITH WILSTROP PARISH COUNCIL: £182k (5 payments)
Housing (not council homes)
£49.16 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £18.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Homelessness and temporary accommodation £17.17
-
Supporting People and welfare services £15.34
-
Housing strategy, advice and enabling £10.64
-
Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £4.93
-
Other General Fund housing £0.97
-
Private sector housing renewal £0.10
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire'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 £799k across 67 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- FOSTERS BUILDING CONTRCATORS LTD: £309k (12 payments)
- SOUTH YORKSHIRE HOUSING ASSOCIATION: £253k (5 payments)
- JP DEVELOPERS LTD: £64k (2 payments)
- TEES ESK & WEAR VALLEYS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST: £51k (1 payment)
- ALIGN PROPERTY SERVICES LTD: £29k (8 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. North Yorkshire's Housing Revenue Account took in £44.1m and spent £49.1m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Planning and development
£46.29 of your bill goes to planning and development at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £17.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Planning policy £18.67
-
Environmental initiatives £9.05
-
Economic development and business support £8.82
-
Planning applications (development management) £7.79
-
Building control £1.97
Named suppliers
In North Yorkshire's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-07 to 2026-06, payments our keyword matching links to planning and development came to £721k across 264 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Names withheld by the council: £180k (86 payments)
- MINISTRY OF HOUSING COMMUNITIES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT: £98k (2 payments)
- PEOPLESCOUT LTD: £77k (88 payments)
- ALIGN PROPERTY SERVICES LTD: £73k (11 payments)
- TLT LLP: £51k (1 payment)
Public health
£4.26 of your bill goes to public health at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £27.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £0.93
-
Drug and alcohol services £0.76
-
Sexual health £0.67
-
Children's 5-19 programmes £0.60
-
Other public health £0.41
-
Public mental health £0.32
-
NHS health checks and health protection £0.24
-
Obesity and physical activity £0.19
-
Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.14
North Yorkshire: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£38.79 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 North Yorkshire's adult social care spending of £322.3m divided in 2025-26. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
-
Physical support £15.20
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £7.25
-
Mental health support £2.08
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.23
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.90
-
Sensory support £0.73
-
Assistive equipment and technology £0.33
-
Information and early intervention £0.14
Physical support
£15.20 of your bill goes to physical support at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £126.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £13.98
-
Aged 18 to 64 £1.22
Learning disability support
£8.92 of your bill goes to learning disability support at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £74.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £7.54
-
Aged 65 and over £1.37
Mental health support
£2.08 of your bill goes to mental health support at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £17.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £1.31
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.77
Support with memory and cognition
£2.02 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £16.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £1.99
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.03
Sensory support
£0.73 of your bill goes to sensory support at North Yorkshire. Here is how its £6.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £0.52
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.21
North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£335.86 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 North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £198.0m divided in 2023-24. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
£116.62 of your bill goes to York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Roads and transport £56.13
-
Other services £31.17
-
Fire and rescue £27.86
-
Running the council £1.46
No similar-council comparison: no comparison: no other body does the same mix of things.
Fire and rescue
£27.86 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. Here is how its £40.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Firefighting and rescue £25.35
-
Community fire safety £2.50
-
Fire emergency planning £0.01
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What North Yorkshire 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) | £13.3m | £21 | £15 | — | up 22.9% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £8.2m | £13 | £7.99 | £1,538 (similar: £1,957) | up 39.7% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £21.1m | £33 | £20 | £3,972 (similar: £5,287) | up 6.3% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £16.8m | £26 | £18 | £3,164 (similar: £3,344) | up 5.8% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £4.3m | £6.70 | £7.61 | £807 (similar: £2,209) | up 8.1% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £7.6m | £12 | £3.78 | £1,427 (similar: £741) | down 11.2% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £3.9m | £6.10 | £7.31 | £734 (similar: £1,427) | down 28.5% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
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 | £726 | £712 |
| ||
Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £504 | £478 |
| ||
Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £153 | £309 |
| ||
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £148 | £110 |
| ||
Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £59 | £51 |
| ||
Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £57 | £49 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £57 | £38 |
| ||
Public healthDetails for Public health | £43 | £65 |
| ||
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £30 | £34 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £28 | £21 |
| ||
- North Yorkshire spent 40.7% 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 £522.3m 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 1.4% 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 North Yorkshire and everything else about North Yorkshire.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in North Yorkshire?
- A Band D bill of £2,544.34 is split between North Yorkshire, North Yorkshire: adult social care precept, this year's increase, North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £839.32.
- 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.