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Overview

South West · Non-metropolitan district

Cotswold

2026/27 view

Cotswold · ONS E07000079

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

46/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

Compared only with non-metropolitan district councils using central government returns.

164 councils in peer group Rank 95 of 164 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover33
Debt burden79
Debt direction12
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-25.91m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
+£3.07m 10.6%
Service expenditure £18.00m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£156.0k 0.9%
Unallocated reserves £1.76m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
£0.00 0.0%
FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL TREND

How this council's finances have changed

Official annual outturn. Each line uses its own scale so direction remains easy to read.

Through 2024/25
Service expenditure £18.00m
4.0%
2020/21: £18.75m 2021/22: £16.89m 2022/23: £16.37m 2023/24: £18.16m 2024/25: £18.00m
Net revenue expenditure £12.72m
26.2%
2020/21: £17.24m 2021/22: £16.28m 2022/23: £14.01m 2023/24: £16.03m 2024/25: £12.72m
Council Tax requirement £11.22m
25.0%
2020/21: £8.98m 2021/22: £9.34m 2022/23: £9.93m 2023/24: £10.37m 2024/25: £11.22m
Unallocated reserves £1.76m
96.4%
2020/21: £896.0k 2021/22: £2.55m 2022/23: £1.76m 2023/24: £1.76m 2024/25: £1.76m
COUNCILMETRICS COMMUNITY SCORE Share your experience 0 of 25 responses collected before results are published
Score this council
Political controlNot yet recordedAdministration not identified
Council leaderNot identifiedParty not identified
Resident population91,6612024 estimate
Latest net debt£-25.91m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for Cotswold, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25
56.7%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.4 percentage points vs 2023/24
17 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste344.3 kgper household−13.7 kg year on year
Waste collected399.3 kgper resident−16.6 kg year on year
Household waste36,781tonnes collected20,860 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

20,860 t recycled, composted or reused 15,922 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

56.7%
2015/16: 58.2%2016/17: 59.6%2017/18: 58.7%2018/19: 58.9%2019/20: 59.3%2020/21: 58.9%2021/22: 59.2%2022/23: 56.8%2023/24: 57.1%2024/25: 56.7%
2015/162024/25
Official Defra waste statistics · Annual local-authority return · Figures may not sum exactly because of published rounding.View source
EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Cotswold.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
56 Open schools
13,212 Pupils
15,074 School places
87.6% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Cotswold.

Attainment 8
49.7
South West 46.2
England 46.1
3.6 points above England
English & maths grade 5+
51.1%
South West 46.2%
England 45.4%
5.7 percentage points above England
EBacc entry
32.3%
South West 33.0%
England 40.5%
8.2 percentage points below England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.17

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

51.9 18/19
54.1 19/20
55.5 20/21
54.0 21/22
50.7 22/23
51.2 23/24
49.7 24/25
Education context

Cotswold's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with South West and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency
HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

House prices and affordability for Cotswold, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£455,000
+ 25.6% over five years
Median resident earnings
£41,267
+ 28.1% over five years
House price to earnings
11.03×
Improved from 11.25× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Cotswold.

£1,248 / month
+ 6.0% in the last year
July 2026
Cotswold
£1,248
+ 6.0%
South West
£1,236
+ 4.5%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South West £12 more per month
Compared with England £203 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

Median house price as a multiple of median resident earnings. Lower is more affordable.

Cotswold
11.03×
South West
8.26×
England
7.64×
Compared with South West Less affordable
Compared with England Less affordable
Source: Office for National Statistics · Housing affordability in England and Wales · House prices year ending September · Residence-based earnings
PLANNING & HOUSING DELIVERY

Is development moving through the system?

Quarterly planning decisions and the government's latest three-year Housing Delivery Test.

2026 Q1
Applications received378this quarter+1 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided319this quarter+33 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
91.5%approved
Overall approval rate292 granted27 refused+4.5 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

87.2%
Rank 219 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

3.8 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major887.5%100.0% Minor6285.5%85.5% Other24993.2%87.2%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 3722024 Q3: 3852024 Q4: 3672025 Q1: 3472025 Q2: 3402025 Q3: 3732025 Q4: 3772026 Q1: 3782024 Q2: 3682024 Q3: 3912024 Q4: 3372025 Q1: 3542025 Q2: 3382025 Q3: 3092025 Q4: 2862026 Q1: 319
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

68%
Required1,392homes over three years
Delivered945homes over three years
100% requirement
Presumption in favourHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Cotswold, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 4,049 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 44.2 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 1.6% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Cotswold Your council
44.2 − 1.6%
South West Region
73.5 + 1.3%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Cotswold has a recorded crime rate 39.9% below South West. It is 47.1% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Gloucestershire
Violence 1,549
16.9 per 1,000 − 6.2%
Theft 1,337
14.6 per 1,000 + 1.5%
Public order 297
3.2 per 1,000 − 13.7%
Criminal damage 372
4.1 per 1,000 − 0.3%
Shoplifting 366
4.0 per 1,000 + 63.4%
Vehicle offences 220
2.4 per 1,000 − 25.4%
Burglary 322
3.5 per 1,000 − 1.5%
Drug offences 65
0.7 per 1,000 − 25.3%
ONS / Home Office · Police-recorded crime · Community Safety Partnership data
SCHOOLS & OFSTED

Schools and inspection outcomes

Open schools, pupil numbers and the latest published Ofsted inspection position for Cotswold.

56 schools
Open schools 56
Pupils 13,212
School places 15,074
Capacity used 87.6%
Primary 44 schools
5,705 pupils
Secondary 6 schools
6,417 pupils
Other / specialist 5 schools
1,090 pupils
16+ provision 1 school
0 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 8
14.3% of open schools
Previous full framework 31
55.4% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 10
17.9% of open schools
No Ofsted record 5
8.9% of open schools
No published outcome 2
3.6% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

8 schools assessed
Achievement 8 assessed
Expected standard 6
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Attendance & behaviour 8 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 3
Curriculum & teaching 8 assessed
Expected standard 8
Inclusion 8 assessed
Expected standard 6
Strong standard 2
Leadership & governance 8 assessed
Expected standard 8
Personal development 8 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 3
Safeguarding 8 assessed
Met 8
PREVIOUS FRAMEWORK

Legacy Ofsted ratings

These ratings apply only to schools whose latest full inspection remains under the previous Ofsted framework. Schools assessed under the renewed framework are shown separately above.

Outstanding 1
Good 21
Requires improvement 1
Not judged 8
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Ampney Crucis Church of England Primary School URN 115673 · GL7 5SD Primary 93 105 Not judged
Andoversford Primary School URN 115735 · GL54 4HR Primary 64 105 Good
Ann Edwards Church of England Primary School URN 115650 · GL7 5UW Primary 206 315 Good
Avening Primary School URN 149619 · GL8 8NF Primary 107 112 Ungraded inspection
Bibury Church of England Primary School URN 146812 · GL7 5NR Primary 20 53 Good
Birdlip Primary School URN 115515 · GL4 8JH Primary 102 105 Good
Bledington Primary School URN 115505 · OX7 6US Primary 81 103 Good
Blockley Church of England Primary School URN 139524 · GL56 9BY Primary 148 140 Good
School information: Get Information about Schools (GIAS). Inspection information: Ofsted monthly management information. Inspection frameworks differ over time, so renewed-framework standards and previous overall effectiveness grades are shown separately.
Published expenditure£0.00No spending file imported
Revenue budget£0.00Not imported
Reported overspend£0.00Not imported outturn
Contracts00 active
Identified suppliers0Normalised entities
PEOPLE AND PLACE

Population snapshot

View full People profile
Population 91,661 2024
South West region 5,889,695
Cotswold represents 1.56% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+2,029 residents ↑ 2.3%
2019: 89,632 residents2020: 89,824 residents2021: 91,076 residents2022: 91,368 residents2023: 91,511 residents2024: 91,661 residents
Cotswold +2.3%
South West +4.4%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Cotswold's population grew over five years. Its change was 2.1 percentage points below the South West and 2.0 percentage points below England.

2019–2024 ONS mid-year estimates
Population estimates and labour-market measures from ONS/Nomis.Official profile
BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in Cotswold?

People receiving Universal Credit and how the caseload has changed over the latest 24 months.

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 5,955 6.5% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +4.6% +264 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.7% +39 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Cotswold LOCAL AUTHORITY
6.5%
South West REGION
10.0%
England COUNTRY
12.3%
Percentage of the resident population receiving Universal Credit. This is not an unemployment rate.
24-MONTH TREND

People receiving Universal Credit

Monthly caseload recorded on the DWP Universal Credit system.

June 2024 May 2026
5,955 5,636 5,317
June 2024 May 2026
What does this measure?

Universal Credit provides financial support to people who are on a low income or out of work. These figures count people receiving Universal Credit, not households and not the number of people who are unemployed.

DWP Stat-Xplore
HOUSING LICENSING

HMOs and property licensing

Coverage not assessedNational HMO explorer
Licensed HMOsAwaiting registerOnly licensed properties will be counted
Register accessNot assessedNo register record available
Identifiable HMO expenditureNot identifiableNot separately described in published transactions
Inspection and enforcement dataAwaiting dataNo activity source imported yet
Coverage note

A licensed HMO register has not yet been located for this council. CouncilMetrics does not estimate HMO expenditure from broad housing or social-care descriptions.

FINANCE

How this council raises and spends money

Comparable official outturn for 2024/25, reported to central government.

MHCLG official outturn
Total service expenditure
£18.00m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£12.72m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£11.22m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£1.76m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £196
Median for councils of the same type £166 18.6% above peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £13.38m · Income £3.80m
£9.58m
Central services Gross £5.81m · Income £860.0k
£4.95m
Planning and development Gross £5.76m · Income £2.23m
£3.53m
Housing Gross £2.63m · Income £1.13m
£1.49m
Culture and related services Gross £1.31m · Income £427.0k
£878.0k
Highways and transport Gross £1.13m · Income £3.56m
£-2.43m
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£11.22m
Retained business rates£6.59m
Revenue Support Grant£144.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £1.76m
Closing £1.76m
£0.00 increase during 2024/25
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · Revenue Outturn RS and RSX · values shown in pounds Official dataset
BORROWING AND INVESTMENTS

Balance-sheet position

A point-in-time view of debt and liquid investments at the end of 2026/27 Q1.

MHCLG quarterly return
Outstanding borrowing
£0.00 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£25.91m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-25.91m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-283 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-283
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 396.8% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£3.07m quarterly increase
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement +£3.07m +10.6%
Change across the series −£6.02m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1
What changed?

Net debt increased despite borrowing not rising because investments and cash fell during the quarter.

MHCLG Borrowing and Investment live table · 2026/27 Q1 · values shown in pounds Official dataset
COUNCIL TAX & COLLECTION

How much council tax remains unpaid?

Council tax collection, outstanding arrears and write-offs reported to central government.

MHCLG 2025/26
Outstanding arrears
£6.01m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
97.94% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£161,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£100.91m Receipts relating to the financial year
FIVE-YEAR TREND

How has unpaid council tax changed?

Outstanding arrears at each financial year-end.

2021/22–2025/26
OUTSTANDING ARREARS 2025/26
£6.01m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 18.3%
+ £931,000
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£5.08m 2021/22 £4.91m 2022/23 £4.58m 2023/24 £5.10m 2024/25 £6.01m 2025/26

Figures represent total outstanding council tax balances, including arrears carried forward from earlier years. Changes in council boundaries can affect historical comparisons.

OUTSTANDING ARREARS

Where does the unpaid council tax come from?

Breakdown of outstanding balances at the end of 2025/26.

£6.01m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.11m

35.2% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £3.90m

64.8% of outstanding arrears

Current-year arrears Earlier-years arrears

Earlier-years arrears represent unpaid council tax carried forward from previous financial years. These figures do not identify individual households or establish whether balances are recoverable.

COLLECTION PERFORMANCE

How does this council compare?

England 2025/26
In-year collection rate 97.94%

England average: 95.60%  ·  2.33 percentage points above England

Outstanding arrears include unpaid balances from earlier financial years and are not the same as council tax uncollected during 2025/26. Monetary values are rounded for display. Official MHCLG source

SPENDING

Published directorate expenditure

Explore all 0 records
CONTRACTS

Largest contracts

Explore all 0 contracts
ContractSupplierStatusEnd dateOriginal value
SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions
SupplierPaymentsPublished expenditure
PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported
DocumentDatasetPeriodStatusOfficial source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — Cotswoldmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Cotswoldmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Cotswoldmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Cotswold District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Cotswoldmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Cotswoldmhclg revenue outturn rs2024/25importedOpen
How to read these figures and the Financial Health Score

Budget summaries and financial positions retain the reporting year and assurance status of their original source. Draft or unaudited values are labelled separately from audited outturn figures. The Financial Health Score uses reserves cover, net debt per resident, liquidity and quarterly debt direction from central MHCLG returns. Each component is converted to a percentile among councils of the same authority type; available components are weighted 35%, 30%, 20% and 15% respectively. A score is published only when at least three components covering 65% of the weighting are available. It is a comparative financial indicator, not an assessment of service quality or political performance.