In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in Stoke-on-Trent
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Stoke-on-Trent is £2,183.12 for 2026-27, split between Stoke-on-Trent £1,749.80, Stoke-on-Trent: adult social care precept, this year's increase £33.98, Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £302.57, Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority £96.77. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is children's social care at Stoke-on-Trent: £611.13 of the bill. Council tax pays for 14% 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
- £2,183.12Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,749.80Goes to Stoke-on-Trent itself (80%)
- £611.13Largest line: children's social care
- 13.7%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.
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: £2,183.12
-
Stoke-on-Trent £1,749.80
Stoke-on-Trent
£1,749.80 of your bill goes to Stoke-on-Trent. It is shared out below in proportion to how Stoke-on-Trent spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Children's social care £611.13
-
Adult social care £606.39
-
Education £206.84
-
Roads and transport £90.48
-
Environment and regulation £64.50
-
Running the council £51.75
-
Housing (not council homes) £42.68
-
Public health £21.27
-
Other services £12.65
-
Planning and development £5.19
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£108.0m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£26.7m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 unitary councils in England closest in population: Plymouth, Kingston-upon-Hull, Derby City, Cumberland, Brighton and Hove, Southampton, Medway Towns, Swindon, South Gloucestershire, Milton Keynes. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Children's social care
£611.13 of your bill goes to children's social care at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £140.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Children looked after £434.78
-
Safeguarding and social work £114.40
-
Family support £43.28
-
Asylum-seeking children £5.65
-
Other children's and families' services £3.77
-
Services for young people £3.41
-
Youth justice £3.22
-
Children's centres and early years £2.62
Adult social care
£606.39 of your bill goes to adult social care at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £139.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Learning disability support £210.10
-
Physical support £107.05
-
Mental health support £80.79
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £52.99
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £28.45
-
Assistive equipment and technology £7.26
-
Information and early intervention £1.10
-
Sensory support £1.00
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.98
Learning disability support
£210.10 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £48.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £172.58
-
Aged 65 and over £37.51
Support with memory and cognition
£116.67 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £26.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £115.96
-
Aged 65 and over £0.71
Mental health support
£80.79 of your bill goes to mental health support at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £18.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £48.23
-
Aged 65 and over £32.56
Sensory support
£1.00 of your bill goes to sensory support at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £230k of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £0.72
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.28
Education
£206.84 of your bill goes to education at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £155.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Special schools and alternative provision £73.76
-
Early years and nursery £52.60
-
Primary schools £32.59
-
Other education £28.96
-
Post-16 £11.90
-
Secondary schools £7.03
Roads and transport
£90.48 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £20.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Support for bus, rail and other public transport £38.95
-
Street lighting (including energy) £27.97
-
Concessionary bus fares £10.51
-
Traffic management and road safety £5.02
-
Winter service (gritting) £2.29
-
Parking £0.49
-
Transport planning and policy £0.18
Road and bridge maintenance
£5.05 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £1.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £4.59
-
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £0.46
Environment and regulation
£64.50 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £14.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Street cleaning £18.76
-
Waste collection £15.48
-
Recycling and waste minimisation £15.14
-
Community safety and CCTV £6.30
-
Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £4.78
-
Other environmental services £1.69
-
Trading standards £1.54
-
Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.41
-
Waste disposal £0.22
-
Public toilets £0.18
Running the council
£51.75 of your bill goes to running the council at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £11.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Corporate and democratic core £20.84
-
Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £15.60
-
Collecting council tax and business rates £6.91
-
Coroners' and other courts £3.80
-
Elections and electoral registration £2.20
-
Emergency planning £1.00
-
Other central services £0.76
-
Registering births, deaths and marriages £0.41
-
Local welfare assistance £0.23
Housing (not council homes)
£42.68 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £9.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Homelessness and temporary accommodation £25.22
-
Supporting People and welfare services £6.10
-
Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £5.00
-
Private sector housing renewal £4.88
-
Housing strategy, advice and enabling £1.49
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. Stoke-on-Trent's Housing Revenue Account took in £83.9m and spent £83.7m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£36.91 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £8.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Museums, arts, heritage and archives £13.37
-
Libraries £8.00
-
Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £6.12
-
Sport and leisure £4.88
-
Community centres and public halls £4.13
-
Tourism £0.42
Public health
£21.27 of your bill goes to public health at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £31.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Drug and alcohol services £5.93
-
Other public health £4.98
-
Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £2.85
-
Obesity and physical activity £2.42
-
Sexual health £2.17
-
Public mental health £1.13
-
Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.67
-
Children's 5-19 programmes £0.60
-
NHS health checks and health protection £0.52
Planning and development
£5.19 of your bill goes to planning and development at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £1.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Planning applications (development management) £2.33
-
Building control £1.09
-
Planning policy £0.88
-
Environmental initiatives £0.50
-
Economic development and business support £0.39
Stoke-on-Trent: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£33.98 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 Stoke-on-Trent's adult social care spending of £139.8m 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.
-
Learning disability support £11.77
-
Physical support £6.00
-
Mental health support £4.53
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £2.97
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.59
-
Assistive equipment and technology £0.41
-
Information and early intervention £0.06
-
Sensory support £0.06
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.05
Learning disability support
£11.77 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £48.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £9.67
-
Aged 65 and over £2.10
Support with memory and cognition
£6.54 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £26.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £6.50
-
Aged 65 and over £0.04
Mental health support
£4.53 of your bill goes to mental health support at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £18.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £2.70
-
Aged 65 and over £1.82
Sensory support
£0.06 of your bill goes to sensory support at Stoke-on-Trent. Here is how its £230k of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £0.04
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.02
Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£302.57 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 Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £278.9m 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.
Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority
£96.77 of your bill goes to Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Fire and rescue £84.10
-
Running the council £12.67
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: Nottinghamshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority, Cheshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Avon Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Derbyshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Berkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Humberside Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£84.10 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £40.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Firefighting and rescue £63.89
-
Community fire safety £20.17
-
Fire emergency planning £0.03
Running the council
£12.67 of your bill goes to running the council at Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £6.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Other central services £12.13
-
Corporate and democratic core £0.55
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Stoke-on-Trent 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) | £1.4m | £5.18 | £18 | — | down 39.6% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £4.7m | £17 | £12 | £8,667 (similar: £6,584) | down 26.1% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £1.2m | £4.28 | £14 | £2,153 (similar: £6,457) | down 56.7% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £1.1m | £3.89 | £9.88 | £1,956 (similar: £5,406) | down 38.7% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £107k | £0.39 | £3.11 | £198 (similar: £1,687) | down 88.9% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £529k | £1.94 | £1.62 | £978 (similar: £853) | down 41.3% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £6.4m | £24 | £9.17 | £11,917 (similar: £3,798) | down 34.6% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Miles of road: Department for Transport road lengths, 2025; locally managed major roads and all minor roads. More on what council tax does and doesn't pay for.
What it adds up to
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
EducationDetails for Education | £572 | £718 |
| ||
Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £517 | £300 |
| ||
Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £513 | £478 |
| ||
Public healthDetails for Public health | £116 | £64 |
| ||
Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £77 | £49 |
| ||
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £55 | £111 |
| ||
Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £44 | £52 |
| ||
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £36 | £33 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £31 | £38 |
| ||
Other servicesDetails for Other services | £11 | £9.20 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £4.39 | £22 |
| ||
- Stoke-on-Trent spent 25.2% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for unitary councils in England: 31.4%); 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 Stoke-on-Trent and everything else about Stoke-on-Trent.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Stoke-on-Trent?
- A Band D bill of £2,183.12 is split between Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke-on-Trent: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, Staffordshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. In proportion to spending, the largest line is children's social care, £611.13.
- 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.