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Where your council tax goes in Sandwell
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Sandwell is £2,244.46 for 2026-27, split between Sandwell £1,878.29, Sandwell: adult social care precept, this year's increase £36.48, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £244.50, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority £85.19. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Sandwell: £744.18 of the bill. Council tax pays for 11% 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
- £2,244.46Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,878.29Goes to Sandwell itself (84%)
- £744.18Largest line: adult social care
- 11.2%Of the council's money that comes from council tax, 2024-25
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: £2,244.46
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Sandwell £1,878.29
Sandwell
£1,878.29 of your bill goes to Sandwell. It is shared out below in proportion to how Sandwell spent its money in 2024-25, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £744.18
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Children's social care £555.83
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Environment and regulation £192.61
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Running the council £113.86
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Education £78.46
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Planning and development £71.69
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Roads and transport £33.97
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Housing (not council homes) £22.41
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Public health £9.19
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£270.2m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£28.1m) 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: Wigan, Coventry, Wakefield, Dudley, Wirral, Doncaster, Newcastle, Bolton, Stockport, Salford. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£744.18 of your bill goes to adult social care at Sandwell. Here is how its £143.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Learning disability support £246.45
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Physical support £232.73
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Support with memory and cognition £126.89
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Mental health support £70.07
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Care assessment and safeguarding £25.37
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £14.62
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Assistive equipment and technology £11.07
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Sensory support £9.42
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Information and early intervention £7.55
Learning disability support
£246.45 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Sandwell. Here is how its £47.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £226.89
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Aged 65 and over £19.56
Mental health support
£70.07 of your bill goes to mental health support at Sandwell. Here is how its £13.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £39.42
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Aged 65 and over £30.66
Sensory support
£9.42 of your bill goes to sensory support at Sandwell. Here is how its £1.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £8.71
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.71
Children's social care
£555.83 of your bill goes to children's social care at Sandwell. Here is how its £107.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other children's and families' services £524.41
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Children's centres and early years £20.34
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Family support £6.24
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Services for young people £4.84
Environment and regulation
£192.61 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Sandwell. Here is how its £37.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste disposal £58.23
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Recycling and waste minimisation £49.04
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Street cleaning £31.99
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Waste collection £28.61
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £11.54
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Community safety and CCTV £7.15
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Trading standards £3.32
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Other environmental services £1.01
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Trade waste £0.94
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.78
Running the council
£113.86 of your bill goes to running the council at Sandwell. Here is how its £22.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other central services £47.66
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Corporate and democratic core £29.50
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Collecting council tax and business rates £15.61
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £10.59
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Elections and electoral registration £4.18
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Coroners' and other courts £3.75
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £1.38
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Emergency planning £1.19
Education
£78.46 of your bill goes to education at Sandwell. Here is how its £285.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £46.02
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Secondary schools £11.16
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Other education £8.62
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Early years and nursery £7.22
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Special schools and alternative provision £3.49
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Post-16 £1.94
Planning and development
£71.69 of your bill goes to planning and development at Sandwell. Here is how its £13.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Environmental initiatives £29.59
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Planning policy £21.99
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Economic development and business support £10.40
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Community development £7.80
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Building control £1.91
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£56.09 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Sandwell. Here is how its £10.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Sport and leisure £21.72
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Libraries £13.00
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £10.96
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £7.35
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Community centres and public halls £3.02
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Other culture and leisure £0.03
Roads and transport
£33.97 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Sandwell. Here is how its £6.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Road and bridge maintenance £18.58
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Street lighting (including energy) £14.68
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Winter service (gritting) £0.71
Road and bridge maintenance
£18.58 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Sandwell. Here is how its £4.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £18.25
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £0.33
Housing (not council homes)
£22.41 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Sandwell. Here is how its £4.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Private sector housing renewal £9.93
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £5.45
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Supporting People and welfare services £3.94
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £2.61
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £0.47
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. Sandwell's Housing Revenue Account took in £147.0m and spent £143.9m in 2024-25. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Public health
£9.19 of your bill goes to public health at Sandwell. Here is how its £29.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £2.30
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Other public health £1.74
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Drug and alcohol services £1.35
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Obesity and physical activity £1.22
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Sexual health £0.91
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Children's 5-19 programmes £0.66
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.45
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.31
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Public mental health £0.25
Sandwell: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£36.48 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 Sandwell's adult social care spending of £143.7m divided in 2024-25. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
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Learning disability support £12.08
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Physical support £11.41
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Support with memory and cognition £6.22
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Mental health support £3.43
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Care assessment and safeguarding £1.24
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.72
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.54
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Sensory support £0.46
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Information and early intervention £0.37
Learning disability support
£12.08 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Sandwell. Here is how its £47.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £11.12
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Aged 65 and over £0.96
Mental health support
£3.43 of your bill goes to mental health support at Sandwell. Here is how its £13.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £1.93
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Aged 65 and over £1.50
Sensory support
£0.46 of your bill goes to sensory support at Sandwell. Here is how its £1.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £0.43
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.03
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£244.50 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £937.6m 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.
West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority
£85.19 of your bill goes to West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Fire and rescue £83.79
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Running the council £1.40
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority, Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Devon and Somerset Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Lancashire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority, South Wales Fire Authority, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£83.79 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £137.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £73.15
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Community fire safety £10.60
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Fire emergency planning £0.04
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Sandwell 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) | £2.1m | £6.00 | £17 | — | down 51.8% on 2023-24 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £6.3m | £18 | £13 | £12,071 (similar: £6,754) | down 6.1% on 2023-24 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £4.2m | £12 | £13 | £8,125 (similar: £6,109) | down 55.0% on 2023-24 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £4.1m | £12 | £9.21 | £7,979 (similar: £4,514) | down 34.5% on 2023-24 |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £76k | £0.22 | £4.79 | £146 (similar: £1,904) | down 97.5% on 2023-24 |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £162k | £0.46 | £2.45 | £312 (similar: £1,232) | down 6.9% on 2023-24 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £3.3m | £9.46 | £9.66 | £6,417 (similar: £4,874) | down 30.9% on 2023-24 |
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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 | £808 | £872 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £407 | £482 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £304 | £340 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £105 | £92 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £85 | £93 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £62 | £59 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £39 | £28 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £31 | £50 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £19 | £29 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £12 | £39 |
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- Sandwell spent 27.3% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2024-25 (median for metropolitan borough councils: 34.4%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
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 Sandwell and everything else about Sandwell.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Sandwell?
- A Band D bill of £2,244.46 is split between Sandwell, Sandwell: adult social care precept, this year's increase, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority. In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £744.18.
- 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.