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Where your council tax goes in Rochford
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Rochford is £2,363.48 for 2026-27, split between Rochford £272.88, Essex County Council £1,610.37, Essex County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase £31.59, Essex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £275.31, Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority £92.52, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £80.81. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Essex County Council: £767.38 of the bill. Council tax pays for 21% 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
- £2,363.48Band D bill, 2026-27
- £272.88Goes to Rochford itself (12%)
- £767.38Largest line: adult social care
- 20.9%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: £2,363.48
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Rochford £272.88
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Essex County Council £1,610.37
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Parish and town councils (average for the area) £80.81
Rochford
£272.88 of your bill goes to Rochford. It is shared out below in proportion to how Rochford spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Environment and regulation £98.65
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Running the council £80.74
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Planning and development £31.95
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Housing (not council homes) £31.50
Roads and transport brought in £801k more than it cost in 2025-26, so it takes no share of your bill.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 district councils in England closest in population: Hastings, Castle Point, Tandridge, Forest of Dean, Cotswold, High Peak, Stevenage, Mole Valley, Runnymede, South Hams. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Environment and regulation
£98.65 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Rochford. Here is how its £5.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste collection £80.79
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £11.45
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Cemeteries and crematoria £3.18
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Community safety and CCTV £2.10
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Public toilets £1.10
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.03
Running the council
£80.74 of your bill goes to running the council at Rochford. Here is how its £4.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £37.52
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Other central services £18.14
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Collecting council tax and business rates £12.82
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Elections and electoral registration £8.85
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £2.66
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Emergency planning £0.74
Planning and development
£31.95 of your bill goes to planning and development at Rochford. Here is how its £1.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Planning policy £12.48
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Building control £7.33
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Planning applications (development management) £5.43
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Environmental initiatives £4.84
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Community development £1.20
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Economic development and business support £0.66
Housing (not council homes)
£31.50 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Rochford. Here is how its £1.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £24.49
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £3.72
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Private sector housing renewal £2.58
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £0.70
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. Rochford 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.
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£30.04 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Rochford. Here is how its £1.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Sport and leisure £20.58
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £9.44
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Community centres and public halls £0.02
Essex County Council
£1,610.37 of your bill goes to Essex County Council. It is shared out below in proportion to how Essex County Council spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £767.38
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Children's social care £311.27
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Education £216.24
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Roads and transport £118.65
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Environment and regulation £96.31
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Running the council £33.75
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Planning and development £21.20
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Public health £10.57
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£781.5m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£72.6m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 county councils closest in population: Kent County Council, Hampshire County Council, Lancashire County Council, Surrey County Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Norfolk County Council, West Sussex County Council, Staffordshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Devon County Council. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£767.38 of your bill goes to adult social care at Essex County Council. Here is how its £740.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Learning disability support £288.85
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Physical support £243.34
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Care assessment and safeguarding £100.62
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Mental health support £50.01
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Assistive equipment and technology £18.22
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £7.62
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Sensory support £5.68
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Information and early intervention £2.68
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £0.51
Named suppliers
In Essex County Council's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to adult social care came to £870.2m across 162,109 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- DIRECT PAYMENT: £68.4m (25551 payments)
- RUNWOOD HOMES LTD: £45.8m (681 payments)
- ESSEX CARES LTD: £34.7m (210 payments)
- DE VERE CARE PARTNERSHIP LTD: £15.2m (5999 payments)
- PAYMENT TO INDIVIDUAL: £12.9m (2787 payments)
Learning disability support
£288.85 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Essex County Council. Here is how its £278.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £269.05
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Aged 65 and over £19.80
Physical support
£243.34 of your bill goes to physical support at Essex County Council. Here is how its £234.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £167.37
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Aged 18 to 64 £75.97
Mental health support
£50.01 of your bill goes to mental health support at Essex County Council. Here is how its £48.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £27.31
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Aged 65 and over £22.70
Support with memory and cognition
£49.87 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Essex County Council. Here is how its £48.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £49.33
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.54
Sensory support
£5.68 of your bill goes to sensory support at Essex County Council. Here is how its £5.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £3.34
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Aged 65 and over £2.34
Children's social care
£311.27 of your bill goes to children's social care at Essex County Council. Here is how its £300.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £170.60
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Family support £61.88
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Safeguarding and social work £57.32
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Youth justice £7.62
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Other children's and families' services £7.08
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Asylum-seeking children £6.77
Named suppliers
In Essex County Council'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 £271.4m across 29,659 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- HCRG CARE SERVICES LTD: £40.5m (16 payments)
- FOSTER CARE PAYMENT: £9.0m (12239 payments)
- ENDING VIOLENCE IN ESSEX: £6.2m (61 payments)
- SOUTHEND ON SEA CITY COUNCIL: £5.5m (86 payments)
- SURECARE RESIDENTIAL LTD: £4.7m (22 payments)
Education
£216.24 of your bill goes to education at Essex County Council. Here is how its £990.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £77.89
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Early years and nursery £55.82
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Special schools and alternative provision £43.05
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Secondary schools £18.69
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Other education £17.52
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Post-16 £3.27
Named suppliers
In Essex County Council's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to education came to £873.8m across 38,085 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- TRAINING BURSARY: £25.5m (5765 payments)
- ESSEX SCHOOLS LTD: £12.4m (41 payments)
- BEAUCHAMPS HIGH SCHOOL: £10.9m (38 payments)
- ST JOHN PAYNE CATHOLIC COMPREHENSIVE SCH: £8.7m (33 payments)
- GLENWOOD SCHOOL: £8.3m (47 payments)
Roads and transport
£118.65 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Essex County Council. Here is how its £114.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Road and bridge maintenance £40.26
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £28.63
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Transport planning and policy £20.06
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Concessionary bus fares £16.13
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Street lighting (including energy) £5.80
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Traffic management and road safety £3.68
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Winter service (gritting) £3.06
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Parking £1.02
Named suppliers
In Essex County Council's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to roads and transport came to £124.3m across 4,650 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- RINGWAY JACOBS LTD: £29.1m (363 payments)
- 24 X 7 LTD: £28.5m (472 payments)
- MINI CAB SERVICES COLCHESTER LTD: £8.1m (46 payments)
- FIRST ESSEX BUSES LTD: £7.5m (38 payments)
- KONECTBUS LTD: £6.2m (93 payments)
Road and bridge maintenance
£40.26 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Essex County Council. Here is how its £38.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £21.29
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £18.97
Environment and regulation
£96.31 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Essex County Council. Here is how its £92.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste disposal £62.68
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Recycling and waste minimisation £26.31
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Community safety and CCTV £3.76
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Trading standards £3.56
Named suppliers
In Essex County Council's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to environment and regulation came to £58.4m across 1,206 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- INDAVER RIVENHALL LTD: £38.8m (118 payments)
- BRAINTREE DISTRICT COUNCIL: £2.2m (48 payments)
- ENVAR COMPOSTING LTD: £2.2m (337 payments)
- BASILDON COUNCIL: £2.0m (126 payments)
- COLCHESTER CITY COUNCIL: £1.7m (43 payments)
Running the council
£33.75 of your bill goes to running the council at Essex County Council. Here is how its £32.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £24.37
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Coroners' and other courts £6.00
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £1.37
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £0.89
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Emergency planning £0.78
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Other central services £0.25
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Elections and electoral registration £0.10
Named suppliers
In Essex County Council's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to running the council came to £40.4m across 4,667 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- PHOENIX SOFTWARE LTD: £4.4m (41 payments)
- MATRIX SCM LTD: £3.8m (1458 payments)
- CDW LTD: £3.6m (54 payments)
- CAPITA BUSINESS SERVICES LTD: £3.0m (30 payments)
- INSIGHT DIRECT (UK) LTD: £2.0m (38 payments)
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£32.47 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Essex County Council. Here is how its £31.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Libraries £25.68
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £2.92
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £2.88
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Sport and leisure £0.91
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Tourism £0.08
Named suppliers
In Essex County Council'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 £172.9m across 638 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- SOUTHEND ON SEA CITY COUNCIL: £94.2m (8 payments)
- ESSEX PFCC FRA: £75.2m (8 payments)
- MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT: £781k (1 payment)
- ROMAN RIVER TREES LTD: £380k (82 payments)
- CHELMSFORD CITY COUNCIL: £275k (1 payment)
Planning and development
£21.20 of your bill goes to planning and development at Essex County Council. Here is how its £20.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £10.54
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Community development £4.28
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Planning applications (development management) £2.49
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Planning policy £2.06
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Environmental initiatives £1.83
Named suppliers
In Essex County Council's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to planning and development came to £2k across 1 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- SOUTHEND ON SEA CITY COUNCIL: £2k (1 payment)
Public health
£10.57 of your bill goes to public health at Essex County Council. Here is how its £82.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £2.68
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Other public health £2.63
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Drug and alcohol services £2.07
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Sexual health £1.17
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.68
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Children's 5-19 programmes £0.64
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Obesity and physical activity £0.32
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.24
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Public mental health £0.14
Housing (not council homes)
£2.54 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Essex County Council. Here is how its £2.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other General Fund housing £1.47
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £1.07
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. Essex County Council 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.
Essex County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£31.59 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 Essex County Council's adult social care spending of £740.4m 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 £11.89
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Physical support £10.02
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Care assessment and safeguarding £4.14
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Mental health support £2.06
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.75
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.31
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Sensory support £0.23
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Information and early intervention £0.11
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £0.02
Learning disability support
£11.89 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Essex County Council. Here is how its £278.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £11.08
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Aged 65 and over £0.82
Physical support
£10.02 of your bill goes to physical support at Essex County Council. Here is how its £234.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £6.89
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Aged 18 to 64 £3.13
Mental health support
£2.06 of your bill goes to mental health support at Essex County Council. Here is how its £48.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £1.12
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Aged 65 and over £0.93
Support with memory and cognition
£2.05 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Essex County Council. Here is how its £48.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £2.03
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.02
Sensory support
£0.23 of your bill goes to sensory support at Essex County Council. Here is how its £5.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.14
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Aged 65 and over £0.10
Essex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£275.31 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 Essex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £446.8m 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.
Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority
£92.52 of your bill goes to Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2024-25, its latest published return.
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Fire and rescue £92.16
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Running the council £0.36
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Devon and Somerset Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority, Lancashire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority, South Wales Fire Authority, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£92.16 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £91.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £71.34
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Community fire safety £19.25
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Fire emergency planning £1.57
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Rochford and Essex County Council 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) | £529k | £5.83 | £9.70 | — | down 37.8% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | −£231k | £-2.55 | £7.42 | — | — |
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| 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) | £2.8m | £1.79 | £3.09 | — | down 9.6% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £38.8m | £25 | £26 | £7,631 (similar: £6,251) | up 11.8% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £18.3m | £12 | £23 | £3,596 (similar: £5,551) | up 18.5% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £20.5m | £13 | £2.51 | £4,035 (similar: £739) | up 6.5% on 2024-25 |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £3.0m | £1.88 | £2.94 | £581 (similar: £826) | up 10.2% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £5.6m | £3.55 | £8.04 | £1,099 (similar: £1,892) | down 15.0% 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 |
|---|---|---|
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £57 | £56 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £47 | £41 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £19 | £22 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £18 | £24 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £17 | £23 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £-8.83 | £-4.18 |
| ||
- Rochford spent 25.4% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for district councils in England: 39.3%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
EducationDetails for Education | £628 | £736 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £470 | £447 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £191 | £242 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £73 | £65 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £59 | £57 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £53 | £52 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £21 | £23 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £20 | £16 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £13 | £4.63 |
| ||
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £1.55 | £3.07 |
| ||
- Essex County Council spent 25.2% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for county councils: 28.8%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
- Its published payments of £500 or more came to £2.94bn 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 4.0% of its staff costs (median among the 1 other county councils whose £500 data is read: 2.7%). 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 Rochford and everything else about Rochford.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Rochford?
- A Band D bill of £2,363.48 is split between Rochford, Essex County Council, Essex County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Essex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £767.38.
- 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.