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Where your council tax goes in St Helens
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in St Helens is £2,403.38 for 2026-27, split between St Helens £1,938.02, St Helens: adult social care precept, this year's increase £37.63, Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £293.97, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority £101.25, The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority £24.00, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £8.51. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at St Helens: £693.58 of the bill. Council tax pays for 16% 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
- £2,403.38Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,938.02Goes to St Helens itself (81%)
- £693.58Largest line: adult social care
- 16.3%Of the council's money that comes from council tax, 2025-26
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Who gets your bill
Figures are for a Band D home. Bands A to H pay a fixed fraction of this, set in law.
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: £2,403.38
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St Helens £1,938.02
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Parish and town councils (average for the area) £8.51
St Helens
£1,938.02 of your bill goes to St Helens. It is shared out below in proportion to how St Helens spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Adult social care £693.58
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Children's social care £588.78
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Education £302.26
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Environment and regulation £98.38
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Running the council £86.31
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Roads and transport £45.89
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Housing (not council homes) £35.44
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Planning and development £21.45
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Public health £11.16
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£150.2m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£17.1m) 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: Bury, Gateshead, Calderdale, North Tyneside, Knowsley, Solihull, Rochdale, South Tyneside, Tameside, Trafford. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£693.58 of your bill goes to adult social care at St Helens. Here is how its £91.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Learning disability support £308.70
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Physical support £180.80
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Care assessment and safeguarding £59.17
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Mental health support £40.88
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Assistive equipment and technology £12.17
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Sensory support £5.08
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £4.24
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Information and early intervention £3.73
Learning disability support
£308.70 of your bill goes to learning disability support at St Helens. Here is how its £41.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £287.92
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Aged 65 and over £20.78
Physical support
£180.80 of your bill goes to physical support at St Helens. Here is how its £24.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £119.16
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Aged 18 to 64 £61.64
Support with memory and cognition
£78.81 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at St Helens. Here is how its £10.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £70.29
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Aged 18 to 64 £8.52
Mental health support
£40.88 of your bill goes to mental health support at St Helens. Here is how its £5.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £29.36
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Aged 65 and over £11.52
Sensory support
£5.08 of your bill goes to sensory support at St Helens. Here is how its £680k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £2.68
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Aged 65 and over £2.40
Children's social care
£588.78 of your bill goes to children's social care at St Helens. Here is how its £77.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Children looked after £389.23
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Safeguarding and social work £122.61
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Family support £43.95
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Children's centres and early years £25.74
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Youth justice £4.80
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Services for young people £2.46
Education
£302.26 of your bill goes to education at St Helens. Here is how its £190.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Primary schools £134.95
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Other education £53.69
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Early years and nursery £44.71
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Secondary schools £38.63
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Special schools and alternative provision £27.08
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Post-16 £3.21
Environment and regulation
£98.38 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at St Helens. Here is how its £12.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Recycling and waste minimisation £30.97
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Waste collection £25.98
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Street cleaning £17.03
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £10.78
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Community safety and CCTV £5.95
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Trading standards £3.96
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Other environmental services £2.30
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £1.26
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Public toilets £0.15
Running the council
£86.31 of your bill goes to running the council at St Helens. Here is how its £11.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £27.14
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Local welfare assistance £25.40
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Collecting council tax and business rates £19.14
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Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £6.55
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Elections and electoral registration £3.19
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Coroners' and other courts £2.82
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Emergency planning £1.52
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £0.47
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Other central services £0.07
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£54.75 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at St Helens. Here is how its £7.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £22.99
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Libraries £17.53
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Sport and leisure £8.18
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £6.06
Roads and transport
£45.89 of your bill goes to roads and transport at St Helens. Here is how its £6.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Street lighting (including energy) £15.32
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Road and bridge maintenance £14.88
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Traffic management and road safety £6.54
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Transport planning and policy £4.75
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Winter service (gritting) £4.40
Housing (not council homes)
£35.44 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at St Helens. Here is how its £4.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Supporting People and welfare services £17.75
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £9.54
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £3.92
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £3.89
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Other General Fund housing £0.34
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. St Helens 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.
Planning and development
£21.45 of your bill goes to planning and development at St Helens. Here is how its £2.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £9.10
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Planning policy £4.34
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Planning applications (development management) £4.28
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Building control £3.73
Public health
£11.16 of your bill goes to public health at St Helens. Here is how its £18.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Drug and alcohol services £3.00
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Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £2.12
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Other public health £1.37
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Sexual health £1.32
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Obesity and physical activity £1.28
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Children's 5-19 programmes £1.09
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NHS health checks and health protection £0.43
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Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.38
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Public mental health £0.18
St Helens: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£37.63 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 St Helens's adult social care spending of £91.2m 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 £16.75
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Physical support £9.81
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Care assessment and safeguarding £3.21
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Mental health support £2.22
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.66
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Sensory support £0.28
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £0.23
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Information and early intervention £0.20
Learning disability support
£16.75 of your bill goes to learning disability support at St Helens. Here is how its £41.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £15.62
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Aged 65 and over £1.13
Physical support
£9.81 of your bill goes to physical support at St Helens. Here is how its £24.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £6.46
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Aged 18 to 64 £3.34
Support with memory and cognition
£4.28 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at St Helens. Here is how its £10.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £3.81
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.46
Mental health support
£2.22 of your bill goes to mental health support at St Helens. Here is how its £5.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £1.59
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Aged 65 and over £0.63
Sensory support
£0.28 of your bill goes to sensory support at St Helens. Here is how its £680k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.15
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Aged 65 and over £0.13
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£293.97 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £495.9m divided in 2025-26. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority
£101.25 of your bill goes to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Fire and rescue £100.01
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Running the council £1.24
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, South Wales Fire Authority, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Lancashire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Avon Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Nottinghamshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Devon and Somerset Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£100.01 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £63.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Firefighting and rescue £88.23
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Community fire safety £11.78
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
£24.00 of your bill goes to The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Roads and transport £15.65
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Education £4.36
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Planning and development £3.25
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Running the council £0.41
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Housing (not council homes) £0.29
Council homes are not in this. Council housing is paid for through the Housing Revenue Account, from tenants' rents, and the law keeps it separate from the General Fund that council tax goes into. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2025-26: it has no council homes of its own, or they were transferred to a housing association. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
No similar-council comparison: no comparison: no other body does the same mix of things.
Roads and transport
£15.65 of your bill goes to roads and transport at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £265.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £12.61
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Concessionary bus fares £2.19
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Transport planning and policy £0.85
Education
£4.36 of your bill goes to education at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £74.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other education £4.28
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Secondary schools £0.04
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Post-16 £0.04
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Primary schools £0.00
Planning and development
£3.25 of your bill goes to planning and development at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £55.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £2.29
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Environmental initiatives £0.48
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Community development £0.44
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Planning policy £0.04
Running the council
£0.41 of your bill goes to running the council at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £7.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £0.36
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Other central services £0.05
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£0.05 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Here is how its £803k of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £0.04
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Tourism £0.00
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What St Helens spent, net of income, on the lines readers ask about most. Roads and street cleaning are also shown per mile of road the council looks after, where it is the highway authority. Gully cleaning and verge cutting are inside routine maintenance; no return splits them out.
| Line | Net spending | Per resident | Similar councils, per resident | Per mile of road | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parks and open spaces (including play areas)Details for Parks and open spaces (including play areas) | £3.0m | £16 | £18 | — | up 18.1% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £2.3m | £12 | £15 | £5,112 (similar: £6,677) | up 18.5% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £2.0m | £11 | £13 | £4,407 (similar: £6,160) | up 36.5% on 2024-25 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £2.3m | £12 | £6.52 | £4,932 (similar: £3,305) | up 18.5% on 2024-25 |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | −£240k | £-1.26 | £2.39 | £-525.00 (similar: £1,028) | — |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £596k | £3.14 | £2.51 | £1,304 (similar: £1,079) | up 25.2% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £2.1m | £11 | £11 | £4,538 (similar: £4,843) | up 6.4% on 2024-25 |
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Miles of road: Department for Transport road lengths, 2025; locally managed major roads and all minor roads. More on what council tax does and doesn't pay for.
What it adds up to
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
EducationDetails for Education | £1,000 | £869 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £480 | £482 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £408 | £337 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £98 | £88 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £68 | £93 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £60 | £59 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £38 | £50 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £32 | £29 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £25 | £39 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £15 | £29 |
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- St Helens spent 35.5% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for metropolitan borough councils: 33.6%); 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 St Helens and everything else about St Helens.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in St Helens?
- A Band D bill of £2,403.38 is split between St Helens, St Helens: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority, The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £693.58.
- 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.