In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in Worthing
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Worthing is £2,456.13 for 2026-27, split between Worthing £283.86, West Sussex County Council £1,854.35, West Sussex County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase £36.01, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £281.91. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at West Sussex County Council: £655.74 of the bill. Council tax pays for 15% 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
- £2,456.13Band D bill, 2026-27
- £283.86Goes to Worthing itself (12%)
- £655.74Largest line: adult social care
- 14.6%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.
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: £2,456.13
-
Worthing £283.86
-
West Sussex County Council £1,854.35
Worthing
£283.86 of your bill goes to Worthing. It is shared out below in proportion to how Worthing spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Housing (not council homes) £116.02
-
Running the council £48.51
-
Environment and regulation £39.30
-
Planning and development £17.84
Public health brought in £3k more than it cost; Roads and transport brought in £832k more than it cost in 2025-26, so they take no share of your bill.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 district councils in England closest in population: Broxtowe, Mansfield, Erewash, Lichfield, North West Leicestershire, Mid Suffolk, South Staffordshire, Fareham, Folkestone and Hythe, Gravesham. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Housing (not council homes)
£116.02 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Worthing. Here is how its £8.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Homelessness and temporary accommodation £99.33
-
Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £15.63
-
Private sector housing renewal £0.76
-
Housing strategy, advice and enabling £0.30
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. Worthing 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.
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£62.19 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Worthing. Here is how its £4.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Museums, arts, heritage and archives £29.14
-
Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £20.76
-
Other culture and leisure £8.76
-
Sport and leisure £1.97
-
Community centres and public halls £1.56
Running the council
£48.51 of your bill goes to running the council at Worthing. Here is how its £3.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Corporate and democratic core £21.14
-
Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £13.09
-
Collecting council tax and business rates £10.20
-
Elections and electoral registration £3.68
-
Emergency planning £0.40
Environment and regulation
£39.30 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Worthing. Here is how its £3.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £9.41
-
Waste collection £7.88
-
Street cleaning £7.57
-
Recycling and waste minimisation £5.80
-
Public toilets £4.11
-
Community safety and CCTV £3.37
-
Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £1.17
Planning and development
£17.84 of your bill goes to planning and development at Worthing. Here is how its £1.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Planning applications (development management) £7.67
-
Building control £4.58
-
Planning policy £4.50
-
Community development £1.10
West Sussex County Council
£1,854.35 of your bill goes to West Sussex County Council. It is shared out below in proportion to how West Sussex County Council spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Adult social care £655.74
-
Children's social care £403.43
-
Education £348.63
-
Environment and regulation £151.80
-
Roads and transport £122.03
-
Fire and rescue £72.97
-
Running the council £31.28
-
Other services £17.77
-
Housing (not council homes) £10.86
-
Public health £10.45
-
Planning and development £7.24
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£608.2m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£41.3m) 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: Staffordshire County Council, Norfolk County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Devon County Council, Derbyshire County Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Suffolk County Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Leicestershire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£655.74 of your bill goes to adult social care at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £386.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Physical support £233.88
-
Learning disability support £216.38
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £77.42
-
Mental health support £38.93
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £17.06
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £5.97
-
Sensory support £5.89
-
Information and early intervention £3.48
-
Assistive equipment and technology £1.19
Physical support
£233.88 of your bill goes to physical support at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £137.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £181.63
-
Aged 18 to 64 £52.26
Learning disability support
£216.38 of your bill goes to learning disability support at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £127.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £191.70
-
Aged 65 and over £24.68
Support with memory and cognition
£55.55 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £32.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £54.32
-
Aged 18 to 64 £1.23
Mental health support
£38.93 of your bill goes to mental health support at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £22.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £20.54
-
Aged 65 and over £18.38
Sensory support
£5.89 of your bill goes to sensory support at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £3.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £4.63
-
Aged 18 to 64 £1.26
Children's social care
£403.43 of your bill goes to children's social care at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £237.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Children looked after £242.94
-
Safeguarding and social work £104.92
-
Family support £43.43
-
Children's centres and early years £5.34
-
Youth justice £3.73
-
Services for young people £3.06
Education
£348.63 of your bill goes to education at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £813.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Primary schools £88.87
-
Secondary schools £81.00
-
Special schools and alternative provision £76.05
-
Early years and nursery £57.53
-
Other education £35.86
-
Post-16 £9.32
Environment and regulation
£151.80 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £89.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Waste disposal £92.59
-
Recycling and waste minimisation £52.24
-
Trading standards £2.52
-
Community safety and CCTV £1.71
-
Cemeteries and crematoria £1.33
-
Other environmental services £0.94
-
Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.41
-
Street cleaning £0.07
Roads and transport
£122.03 of your bill goes to roads and transport at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £71.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Road and bridge maintenance £47.65
-
Street lighting (including energy) £31.18
-
Concessionary bus fares £23.35
-
Support for bus, rail and other public transport £15.05
-
Winter service (gritting) £3.95
-
Traffic management and road safety £0.85
Road and bridge maintenance
£47.65 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £30.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £44.99
-
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £2.66
Fire and rescue
£72.97 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £43.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Firefighting and rescue £57.03
-
Community fire safety £15.52
-
Fire emergency planning £0.42
Running the council
£31.28 of your bill goes to running the council at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £18.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Local welfare assistance £14.59
-
Corporate and democratic core £9.39
-
Coroners' and other courts £3.40
-
Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £3.19
-
Emergency planning £0.40
-
Elections and electoral registration £0.32
-
Collecting council tax and business rates £0.00
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£22.15 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £13.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Libraries £16.85
-
Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £3.40
-
Museums, arts, heritage and archives £1.46
-
Sport and leisure £0.44
Housing (not council homes)
£10.86 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £6.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Homelessness and temporary accommodation £7.85
-
Supporting People and welfare services £2.42
-
Other General Fund housing £0.59
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. West Sussex 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.
Public health
£10.45 of your bill goes to public health at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £47.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £2.88
-
Drug and alcohol services £2.30
-
Other public health £1.66
-
Sexual health £1.30
-
Children's 5-19 programmes £0.61
-
NHS health checks and health protection £0.60
-
Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.50
-
Obesity and physical activity £0.47
-
Public mental health £0.12
Planning and development
£7.24 of your bill goes to planning and development at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £4.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Economic development and business support £3.35
-
Community development £3.07
-
Planning policy £0.82
West Sussex County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£36.01 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how West Sussex County Council's adult social care spending of £386.5m 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 £12.84
-
Learning disability support £11.88
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £4.25
-
Mental health support £2.14
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £0.94
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.33
-
Sensory support £0.32
-
Information and early intervention £0.19
-
Assistive equipment and technology £0.07
Physical support
£12.84 of your bill goes to physical support at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £137.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £9.97
-
Aged 18 to 64 £2.87
Learning disability support
£11.88 of your bill goes to learning disability support at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £127.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £10.53
-
Aged 65 and over £1.36
Support with memory and cognition
£3.05 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £32.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £2.98
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.07
Mental health support
£2.14 of your bill goes to mental health support at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £22.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £1.13
-
Aged 65 and over £1.01
Sensory support
£0.32 of your bill goes to sensory support at West Sussex County Council. Here is how its £3.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £0.25
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.07
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£281.91 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 Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £419.3m 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.
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Worthing and West Sussex 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) | £1.6m | £14 | £13 | — | up 8.1% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £864k | £7.59 | £9.44 | — | up 5.5% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £57k | £0.50 | £0.39 | — | down 17.4% 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) | £2.0m | £2.17 | £3.00 | — | up 8.1% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £40k | £0.04 | £1.02 | £16 (similar: £322) | down 84.4% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £30.3m | £33 | £21 | £11,903 (similar: £5,329) | up 3.4% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £28.6m | £31 | £17 | £11,238 (similar: £3,818) | up 5.0% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £1.7m | £1.84 | £3.54 | £665 (similar: £894) | down 17.2% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £2.5m | £2.72 | £4.34 | £986 (similar: £947) | up 30.2% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £19.8m | £22 | £6.60 | £7,788 (similar: £1,626) | up 0.8% 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 |
|---|---|---|
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £78 | £24 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £42 | £23 |
| ||
Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £33 | £41 |
| ||
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £26 | £56 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £12 | £22 |
| ||
Public healthDetails for Public health | £-0.03 | £0.49 |
| ||
Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £-7.31 | £-4.18 |
| ||
- Worthing spent 45.9% 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 | £883 | £714 |
| ||
Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £420 | £457 |
| ||
Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £258 | £239 |
| ||
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £97 | £57 |
| ||
Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £78 | £65 |
| ||
Public healthDetails for Public health | £51 | £53 |
| ||
Fire and rescueDetails for Fire and rescue | £47 | £48 |
| ||
Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £20 | £23 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £14 | £17 |
| ||
Other servicesDetails for Other services | £11 | £0.42 |
| ||
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £6.95 | £2.98 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £4.63 | £5.56 |
| ||
- West Sussex County Council spent 33.3% 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 Worthing and everything else about Worthing.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Worthing?
- A Band D bill of £2,456.13 is split between Worthing, West Sussex County Council, West Sussex County Council: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable. In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £655.74.
- 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.