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Where your council tax goes in Sheffield
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Sheffield is £2,510.16 for 2026-27, split between Sheffield £2,089.65, Sheffield: adult social care precept, this year's increase £40.58, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £280.04, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority £95.05, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £4.84. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Sheffield: £790.93 of the bill. Council tax pays for 18% 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
- £2,510.16Band D bill, 2026-27
- £2,089.65Goes to Sheffield itself (83%)
- £790.93Largest line: adult social care
- 17.6%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: £2,510.16
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Sheffield £2,089.65
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Parish and town councils (average for the area) £4.84
Sheffield
£2,089.65 of your bill goes to Sheffield. It is shared out below in proportion to how Sheffield spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £790.93
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Children's social care £396.48
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Education £325.55
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Roads and transport £161.52
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Environment and regulation £138.25
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Running the council £84.49
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Housing (not council homes) £63.33
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Planning and development £62.64
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Public health £2.88
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£287.5m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£39.7m) 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: Sheffield, Manchester, Bradford, Liverpool, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield, Coventry, Sandwell, Wigan. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£790.93 of your bill goes to adult social care at Sheffield. Here is how its £336.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Physical support £280.13
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Learning disability support £268.99
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Mental health support £77.42
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Care assessment and safeguarding £43.77
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £32.26
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Information and early intervention £20.57
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £19.51
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Assistive equipment and technology £13.36
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Sensory support £8.24
Named suppliers
In Sheffield's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to adult social care came to £263.6m across 104,228 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Names withheld by the council: £22.3m (16174 payments)
- DIMENSIONS (UK) LTD (NEW ERA HOUSING): £12.1m (1838 payments)
- IDK SUPPORT 4 YOU LTD: £9.0m (6413 payments)
- MOORVILLE RESIDENTIAL: £5.9m (655 payments)
- NEWTON CONSULTING LIMITED: £5.7m (7 payments)
Physical support
£280.13 of your bill goes to physical support at Sheffield. Here is how its £119.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £196.35
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Aged 18 to 64 £83.78
Learning disability support
£268.99 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Sheffield. Here is how its £114.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £229.38
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Aged 65 and over £39.61
Mental health support
£77.42 of your bill goes to mental health support at Sheffield. Here is how its £32.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £58.24
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Aged 65 and over £19.19
Support with memory and cognition
£26.67 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Sheffield. Here is how its £11.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £22.35
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Aged 18 to 64 £4.32
Sensory support
£8.24 of your bill goes to sensory support at Sheffield. Here is how its £3.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £5.90
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Aged 65 and over £2.34
Children's social care
£396.48 of your bill goes to children's social care at Sheffield. Here is how its £168.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £199.80
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Family support £74.61
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Safeguarding and social work £73.22
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Children's centres and early years £20.77
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Services for young people £16.08
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Youth justice £8.21
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Other children's and families' services £3.79
Named suppliers
In Sheffield'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 £197.9m across 28,259 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Names withheld by the council: £9.1m (7030 payments)
- TAYLOR SHAW LTD: £6.8m (136 payments)
- ESLAND NORTH LTD: £4.1m (240 payments)
- APOLLO TAXIS 2017 LIMITED: £3.7m (21 payments)
- EDENRED (UK GROUP) LTD: £3.7m (7 payments)
Education
£325.55 of your bill goes to education at Sheffield. Here is how its £426.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £122.06
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Early years and nursery £67.22
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Special schools and alternative provision £51.14
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Secondary schools £43.34
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Other education £33.34
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Post-16 £8.44
Named suppliers
In Sheffield's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to education came to £596k across 195 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD: £79k (7 payments)
- CARE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE'S FUTURE CIC: £62k (13 payments)
- CHILYPEP: £50k (2 payments)
- ASTREA MULTI ACADEMY TRUST CLUSTER: £43k (3 payments)
- A MIND APART THEATRE COMPANY LTD: £34k (14 payments)
Roads and transport
£161.52 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Sheffield. Here is how its £68.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Road and bridge maintenance £125.02
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Street lighting (including energy) £19.06
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Traffic management and road safety £8.83
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Winter service (gritting) £4.57
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Transport planning and policy £3.67
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £0.36
Named suppliers
In Sheffield's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to roads and transport came to £90.6m across 542 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- AMEY HALLAM HIGHWAYS LIMITED: £84.4m (12 payments)
- EDF ENERGY CUSTOMERS LTD: £2.8m (58 payments)
- METRO ROD (SOUTH YORKSHIRE): £773k (153 payments)
- INTELLISCAPE LIMITED: £458k (20 payments)
- RICHMOND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES: £320k (79 payments)
Road and bridge maintenance
£125.02 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Sheffield. Here is how its £57.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £70.70
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £54.32
Named suppliers
In Sheffield's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to road and bridge maintenance came to £1.1m across 252 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- METRO ROD (SOUTH YORKSHIRE): £773k (153 payments)
- RICHMOND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES: £320k (79 payments)
- NETWORK RAIL: £25k (4 payments)
- D FROST PLANT HIRE: £16k (4 payments)
- Names withheld by the council: £9k (7 payments)
Environment and regulation
£138.25 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Sheffield. Here is how its £58.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste disposal £31.98
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Waste collection £27.21
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Community safety and CCTV £21.72
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Recycling and waste minimisation £21.29
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Street cleaning £17.96
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £13.03
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Trading standards £1.95
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Cemeteries and crematoria £1.16
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £1.09
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Trade waste £0.83
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Public toilets £0.04
Named suppliers
In Sheffield's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to environment and regulation came to £36.9m across 640 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- SHEFFIELD ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LIMITED: £34.6m (24 payments)
- ASSOCIATED WASTE MANAGEMENT LTD (AWM): £469k (166 payments)
- FORWARD ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITED: £371k (135 payments)
- THE GREEN ESTATE CIC: £335k (55 payments)
- ADVANCED VISUALISATION TECHNOLOGIES LTD: £296k (17 payments)
Running the council
£84.49 of your bill goes to running the council at Sheffield. Here is how its £35.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £23.91
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Local welfare assistance £21.62
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Collecting council tax and business rates £20.20
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £13.66
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Elections and electoral registration £2.66
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Coroners' and other courts £1.52
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Emergency planning £0.92
Named suppliers
In Sheffield's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to running the council came to £116.3m across 2,251 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE: £40.8m (12 payments)
- SOUTH YORKSHIRE FIRE & RESCUE AUTHORITY: £16.2m (24 payments)
- PARADIGM (SHEFFIELD BSF) LIMITED: £11.7m (48 payments)
- EQUITIX (HOWDEN HOUSE) LTD: £8.1m (12 payments)
- SOUTH YORKSHIRE MAYORAL COMBINED AUTHORI: £4.9m (13 payments)
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£63.58 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Sheffield. Here is how its £27.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £21.54
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Sport and leisure £18.55
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Libraries £12.82
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £9.32
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Tourism £1.37
Named suppliers
In Sheffield'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 £7.6m across 893 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- SHEFFIELD MUSEUMS TRUST: £1.8m (10 payments)
- SUNSHINE DAY NURSERY NORTHERN GENERAL: £1.1m (13 payments)
- WORLD SNOOKER LIMITED: £767k (2 payments)
- SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY COMMUNITY PROGRAMME: £546k (75 payments)
- Names withheld by the council: £230k (36 payments)
Housing (not council homes)
£63.33 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Sheffield. Here is how its £26.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £40.22
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £8.54
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £6.56
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Private sector housing renewal £4.59
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Supporting People and welfare services £3.39
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Other General Fund housing £0.02
Named suppliers
In Sheffield's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to housing (not council homes) came to £2.1m across 47 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- SHEFFIELD CITY CENTRE BID LTD: £996k (8 payments)
- THE SALVATION ARMY (SP): £633k (8 payments)
- FRAMEWORK HOUSING ASSOCIATION: £220k (4 payments)
- SOUTH YORKSHIRE HOUSING ASSOCIATION LTD: £123k (5 payments)
- DEPAUL UK: £37k (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. Sheffield's Housing Revenue Account took in £208.3m and spent £194.2m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Planning and development
£62.64 of your bill goes to planning and development at Sheffield. Here is how its £26.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £41.75
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Community development £11.30
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Planning policy £3.94
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Building control £2.64
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Planning applications (development management) £2.53
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Environmental initiatives £0.47
Named suppliers
In Sheffield's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to planning and development came to £181k across 24 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- THE PLANNING INSPECTORATE: £147k (7 payments)
- LOCAL PLAN SERVICES: £20k (13 payments)
- PREMIER STORAGE OFFICE SOLUTIONS: £11k (1 payment)
- NOTA BENE CONSULTING LTD: £2k (1 payment)
- PORTALPLANQUEST LTD: £1k (2 payments)
Public health
£2.88 of your bill goes to public health at Sheffield. Here is how its £40.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £0.71
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Drug and alcohol services £0.62
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Sexual health £0.45
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Other public health £0.32
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Obesity and physical activity £0.20
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Public mental health £0.17
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Children's 5-19 programmes £0.16
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.15
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.10
Named suppliers
In Sheffield's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-09 to 2026-08, payments our keyword matching links to public health came to £49.3m across 1,218 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- WAYTHROUGH: £11.5m (17 payments)
- SHEFFIELD CHILDRENS HOSPITAL NHS TRUST: £10.4m (23 payments)
- SHEFFIELD TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS FND TST: £4.7m (53 payments)
- INDEPENDENT DOMESTIC ABUSE SERVICES: £2.4m (32 payments)
- PRIMARY CARE SHEFFIELD LTD: £1.9m (17 payments)
Sheffield: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£40.58 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 Sheffield's adult social care spending of £336.4m 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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Physical support £14.37
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Learning disability support £13.80
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Mental health support £3.97
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Care assessment and safeguarding £2.25
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.66
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Information and early intervention £1.06
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £1.00
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.69
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Sensory support £0.42
Physical support
£14.37 of your bill goes to physical support at Sheffield. Here is how its £119.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £10.07
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Aged 18 to 64 £4.30
Learning disability support
£13.80 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Sheffield. Here is how its £114.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £11.77
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Aged 65 and over £2.03
Mental health support
£3.97 of your bill goes to mental health support at Sheffield. Here is how its £32.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £2.99
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Aged 65 and over £0.98
Support with memory and cognition
£1.37 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Sheffield. Here is how its £11.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £1.15
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.22
Sensory support
£0.42 of your bill goes to sensory support at Sheffield. Here is how its £3.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.30
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Aged 65 and over £0.12
South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£280.04 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 South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £393.7m 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.
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
£95.05 of your bill goes to South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Fire and rescue £93.27
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Running the council £1.78
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: Merseyside 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, Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority, Cheshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£93.27 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £67.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £83.01
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Community fire safety £10.26
Running the council
£1.78 of your bill goes to running the council at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £1.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £1.28
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Corporate and democratic core £0.50
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Sheffield 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) | £9.2m | £16 | £10 | — | — |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £7.6m | £13 | £16 | £6,270 (similar: £7,821) | — |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £57.0m | £98 | £14 | £46,832 (similar: £8,125) | — |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £24.8m | £43 | £12 | £20,349 (similar: £6,059) | — |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £32.3m | £56 | £0.91 | £26,483 (similar: £491) | — |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £2.1m | £3.60 | £2.38 | £1,713 (similar: £1,209) | — |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £8.7m | £15 | £11 | £7,140 (similar: £6,417) | — |
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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 | £735 | £872 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £581 | £480 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £291 | £340 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £119 | £29 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £101 | £92 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £71 | £93 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £62 | £59 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £47 | £50 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £46 | £39 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £46 | £28 |
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- Sheffield spent 29.7% 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 £1.10bn 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 9.6% of its staff costs (median among the 3 other metropolitan borough councils whose £500 data is read: 8.6%). 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 Sheffield and everything else about Sheffield.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Sheffield?
- A Band D bill of £2,510.16 is split between Sheffield, Sheffield: adult social care precept, this year's increase, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £790.93.
- 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.