In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in Tunbridge Wells
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Tunbridge Wells is £2,446.15 for 2026-27, split between Tunbridge Wells £217.10, Kent County Council £1,724.89, Kent County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase £33.71, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £285.15, Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority £99.81, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £85.49. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Kent County Council: £757.37 of the bill. Council tax pays for 13% 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
- £2,446.15Band D bill, 2026-27
- £217.10Goes to Tunbridge Wells itself (9%)
- £757.37Largest line: adult social care
- 13.0%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: £2,446.15
-
Tunbridge Wells £217.10
-
Kent County Council £1,724.89
-
Parish and town councils (average for the area) £85.49
Tunbridge Wells
£217.10 of your bill goes to Tunbridge Wells. It is shared out below in proportion to how Tunbridge Wells spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Planning and development £53.42
-
Running the council £42.47
-
Housing (not council homes) £35.43
-
Environment and regulation £30.21
Roads and transport brought in £4.7m more than it cost in 2025-26, so it takes no share of your bill.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 district councils in England closest in population: Wyre, South Derbyshire, Dover, Gedling, West Oxfordshire, Cheltenham, Welwyn Hatfield, Chorley, Hinckley and Bosworth, South Ribble. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£55.58 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Tunbridge Wells. Here is how its £5.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £24.41
-
Museums, arts, heritage and archives £22.51
-
Sport and leisure £5.05
-
Community centres and public halls £2.18
-
Tourism £1.43
Planning and development
£53.42 of your bill goes to planning and development at Tunbridge Wells. Here is how its £4.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Economic development and business support £28.28
-
Planning policy £15.33
-
Planning applications (development management) £6.80
-
Building control £2.04
-
Environmental initiatives £0.97
Running the council
£42.47 of your bill goes to running the council at Tunbridge Wells. Here is how its £3.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Corporate and democratic core £22.15
-
Collecting council tax and business rates £7.81
-
Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £5.78
-
Elections and electoral registration £5.63
-
Other central services £1.09
Housing (not council homes)
£35.43 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Tunbridge Wells. Here is how its £3.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Homelessness and temporary accommodation £21.07
-
Housing strategy, advice and enabling £5.31
-
Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £4.85
-
Private sector housing renewal £3.58
-
Other General Fund housing £0.61
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. Tunbridge Wells 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.
Environment and regulation
£30.21 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Tunbridge Wells. Here is how its £2.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £13.65
-
Street cleaning £10.38
-
Community safety and CCTV £3.71
-
Public toilets £1.52
-
Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.96
Kent County Council
£1,724.89 of your bill goes to Kent County Council. It is shared out below in proportion to how Kent County Council spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Adult social care £757.37
-
Children's social care £381.94
-
Education £298.11
-
Roads and transport £90.81
-
Environment and regulation £89.15
-
Running the council £54.02
-
Public health £10.24
-
Planning and development £10.21
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£1.04bn) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£82.0m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 county councils closest in population: Essex County Council, Hampshire County Council, Lancashire County Council, Surrey County Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Norfolk County Council, West Sussex County Council, Staffordshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Devon County Council. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£757.37 of your bill goes to adult social care at Kent County Council. Here is how its £798.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Physical support £271.26
-
Learning disability support £262.27
-
Mental health support £58.68
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £56.99
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £50.62
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £19.61
-
Assistive equipment and technology £6.10
-
Sensory support £5.43
-
Information and early intervention £2.19
Physical support
£271.26 of your bill goes to physical support at Kent County Council. Here is how its £286.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £210.10
-
Aged 18 to 64 £61.15
Learning disability support
£262.27 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Kent County Council. Here is how its £276.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £238.87
-
Aged 65 and over £23.40
Mental health support
£58.68 of your bill goes to mental health support at Kent County Council. Here is how its £61.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £46.95
-
Aged 65 and over £11.73
Support with memory and cognition
£24.21 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Kent County Council. Here is how its £25.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £14.84
-
Aged 18 to 64 £9.38
Sensory support
£5.43 of your bill goes to sensory support at Kent County Council. Here is how its £5.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £3.09
-
Aged 18 to 64 £2.35
Children's social care
£381.94 of your bill goes to children's social care at Kent County Council. Here is how its £402.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Children looked after £238.02
-
Safeguarding and social work £84.93
-
Family support £53.89
-
Youth justice £2.76
-
Services for young people £2.16
-
Children's centres and early years £0.19
Education
£298.11 of your bill goes to education at Kent County Council. Here is how its £1.35bn of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Primary schools £102.41
-
Special schools and alternative provision £67.47
-
Early years and nursery £47.76
-
Secondary schools £42.38
-
Other education £34.22
-
Post-16 £3.87
Roads and transport
£90.81 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Kent County Council. Here is how its £95.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Road and bridge maintenance £42.60
-
Concessionary bus fares £17.24
-
Support for bus, rail and other public transport £8.92
-
Street lighting (including energy) £6.79
-
Transport planning and policy £5.90
-
Traffic management and road safety £5.29
-
Winter service (gritting) £4.06
Road and bridge maintenance
£42.60 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Kent County Council. Here is how its £44.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £38.23
-
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £4.37
Environment and regulation
£89.15 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Kent County Council. Here is how its £94.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Waste disposal £72.80
-
Recycling and waste minimisation £10.67
-
Trading standards £4.17
-
Community safety and CCTV £1.18
-
Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.34
Running the council
£54.02 of your bill goes to running the council at Kent County Council. Here is how its £56.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Local welfare assistance £22.53
-
Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £14.57
-
Corporate and democratic core £10.01
-
Coroners' and other courts £6.00
-
Emergency planning £0.83
-
Elections and electoral registration £0.08
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£28.22 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Kent County Council. Here is how its £29.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Libraries £19.39
-
Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £4.99
-
Museums, arts, heritage and archives £2.82
-
Sport and leisure £0.53
-
Tourism £0.43
-
Community centres and public halls £0.05
Public health
£10.24 of your bill goes to public health at Kent County Council. Here is how its £92.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £3.07
-
Drug and alcohol services £1.92
-
Sexual health £1.56
-
Public mental health £0.94
-
Children's 5-19 programmes £0.66
-
Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.58
-
NHS health checks and health protection £0.57
-
Other public health £0.53
-
Obesity and physical activity £0.41
Planning and development
£10.21 of your bill goes to planning and development at Kent County Council. Here is how its £10.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Economic development and business support £3.43
-
Environmental initiatives £2.16
-
Planning applications (development management) £2.14
-
Community development £1.62
-
Planning policy £0.87
Housing (not council homes)
£4.81 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Kent County Council. Here is how its £5.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Supporting People and welfare services £4.38
-
Other General Fund housing £0.27
-
Private sector housing renewal £0.15
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. Kent County Council reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2025-26: it has no council homes of its own, or they were transferred to a housing association. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Kent County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£33.71 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 Kent County Council's adult social care spending of £798.4m 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.
-
Physical support £12.07
-
Learning disability support £11.67
-
Mental health support £2.61
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £2.54
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £2.25
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.87
-
Assistive equipment and technology £0.27
-
Sensory support £0.24
-
Information and early intervention £0.10
Physical support
£12.07 of your bill goes to physical support at Kent County Council. Here is how its £286.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £9.35
-
Aged 18 to 64 £2.72
Learning disability support
£11.67 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Kent County Council. Here is how its £276.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £10.63
-
Aged 65 and over £1.04
Mental health support
£2.61 of your bill goes to mental health support at Kent County Council. Here is how its £61.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £2.09
-
Aged 65 and over £0.52
Support with memory and cognition
£1.08 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Kent County Council. Here is how its £25.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £0.66
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.42
Sensory support
£0.24 of your bill goes to sensory support at Kent County Council. Here is how its £5.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £0.14
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.10
Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£285.15 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 Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £455.8m 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.
Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority
£99.81 of your bill goes to Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Fire and rescue £97.11
-
Running the council £2.70
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Devon and Somerset Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority, Lancashire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority, South Wales Fire Authority, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£97.11 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £98.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Firefighting and rescue £76.54
-
Community fire safety £17.97
-
Fire emergency planning £2.60
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Tunbridge Wells and Kent County Council spent, net of income, on the lines readers ask about most. Roads and street cleaning are also shown per mile of road the council looks after, where it is the highway authority. Gully cleaning and verge cutting are inside routine maintenance; no return splits them out.
| Line | Net spending | Per resident | Similar councils, per resident | Per mile of road | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parks and open spaces (including play areas)Details for Parks and open spaces (including play areas) | £2.2m | £19 | £16 | — | up 1.6% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £1.3m | £11 | £12 | — | up 0.2% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £126k | £1.05 | £0.56 | — | down 5.3% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
| 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) | £5.3m | £3.18 | £2.67 | — | up 0.7% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £44.9m | £27 | £25 | £7,931 (similar: £6,251) | up 11.5% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £40.3m | £24 | £21 | £7,117 (similar: £3,956) | up 18.2% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £4.6m | £2.79 | £2.51 | £814 (similar: £739) | down 25.5% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £4.3m | £2.59 | £2.94 | £755 (similar: £826) | down 6.9% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £7.2m | £4.33 | £8.04 | £1,265 (similar: £1,892) | up 12.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £42 | £23 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £41 | £22 |
| ||
Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £32 | £41 |
| ||
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £27 | £24 |
| ||
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £23 | £56 |
| ||
Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £-38.75 | £-4.18 |
| ||
- Tunbridge Wells spent 38.2% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for district councils in England: 39.3%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
EducationDetails for Education | £820 | £714 |
| ||
Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £483 | £447 |
| ||
Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £244 | £239 |
| ||
Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £58 | £68 |
| ||
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £57 | £57 |
| ||
Public healthDetails for Public health | £56 | £52 |
| ||
Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £34 | £21 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £18 | £16 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £6.51 | £4.63 |
| ||
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £3.07 | £2.98 |
| ||
- Kent County Council spent 30.2% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for county councils: 28.1%); 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 Tunbridge Wells and everything else about Tunbridge Wells.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Tunbridge Wells?
- A Band D bill of £2,446.15 is split between Tunbridge Wells, Kent County Council, Kent County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £757.37.
- 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.