South East · Non-metropolitan district

Mole Valley

2026/27 view

Mole Valley · ONS E07000210

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

44/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 99 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover47
Debt burden47
Liquidity61
Debt direction7
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £15.19m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
+£2.61m 20.7%
Service expenditure £15.08m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£211.0k 1.4%
Unallocated reserves £1.95m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£234.0k 10.7%
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 £15.08m
39.3%
2020/21: £24.86m 2021/22: £16.36m 2022/23: £12.92m 2023/24: £15.29m 2024/25: £15.08m
Net revenue expenditure £9.54m
61.7%
2020/21: £24.90m 2021/22: £10.50m 2022/23: £10.65m 2023/24: £8.98m 2024/25: £9.54m
Council Tax requirement £8.97m
14.4%
2020/21: £7.84m 2021/22: £8.03m 2022/23: £8.37m 2023/24: £8.66m 2024/25: £8.97m
Unallocated reserves £1.95m
23.3%
2020/21: £1.58m 2021/22: £4.34m 2022/23: £1.84m 2023/24: £2.18m 2024/25: £1.95m
COUNCILMETRICS COMMUNITY SCORE Share your experience 0 of 25 responses collected before results are published
Score this council
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
55.5%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.9 percentage points vs 2023/24
21 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste367.4 kgper household+5.3 kg year on year
Waste collected370.3 kgper resident−1.3 kg year on year
Household waste32,877tonnes collected18,242 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

18,242 t recycled, composted or reused 14,635 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

55.5%
2015/16: 59.0%2016/17: 58.2%2017/18: 57.9%2018/19: 52.9%2019/20: 54.8%2020/21: 56.6%2021/22: 54.2%2022/23: 55.1%2023/24: 56.4%2024/25: 55.5%
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 Mole Valley.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
42 Open schools
14,008 Pupils
15,853 School places
88.4% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Mole Valley.

Attainment 8
53.4
South East 47.0
England 46.1
7.3 points above England
English & maths grade 5+
59.8%
South East 47.9%
England 45.4%
14.4 percentage points above England
EBacc entry
55.6%
South East 41.6%
England 40.5%
15.1 percentage points above England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.27

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

51.8 18/19
54.3 19/20
55.2 20/21
55.9 21/22
51.7 22/23
53.0 23/24
53.4 24/25
Education context

Mole Valley's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are above both South East and England benchmarks across all three headline measures.

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

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025
Median house price
£580,000
+ 12.6% over five years
Median resident earnings
£42,937
+ 40.0% over five years
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Mole Valley.

£1,548 / month
+ 1.8% in the last year
July 2026
Mole Valley
£1,548
+ 1.8%
South East
£1,419
+ 2.9%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South East £129 more per month
Compared with England £97 more per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Mole Valley
13.51×
South East
9.20×
England
7.64×
Compared with South East 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 received179this quarter−64 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided165this quarter−101 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
73.3%approved
Overall approval rate121 granted44 refused+4.5 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

71.5%
Rank 285 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

4.8 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major450.0%100.0% Minor6167.2%52.5% Other10078.0%82.0%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 2602024 Q3: 2392024 Q4: 2892025 Q1: 2962025 Q2: 2742025 Q3: 2882025 Q4: 2432026 Q1: 1792024 Q2: 2672024 Q3: 2572024 Q4: 2222025 Q1: 2772025 Q2: 2642025 Q3: 2182025 Q4: 2662026 Q1: 165
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

72%
Required1,013homes over three years
Delivered731homes over three years
100% requirement
Presumption in favourHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Mole Valley, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 4,822 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 54.4 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change + 2.6% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Mole Valley Your council
54.4 + 2.6%
South East Region
70.5 − 2.7%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Mole Valley has a recorded crime rate 22.9% below South East. It is 34.9% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Surrey
Violence 1,882
21.2 per 1,000 + 3.4%
Theft 1,368
15.4 per 1,000 − 1.8%
Public order 538
6.1 per 1,000 − 5.9%
Criminal damage 430
4.8 per 1,000 − 2.5%
Shoplifting 409
4.6 per 1,000 − 6.8%
Vehicle offences 243
2.7 per 1,000 0.0%
Burglary 292
3.3 per 1,000 + 8.1%
Drug offences 218
2.5 per 1,000 + 70.3%
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 Mole Valley.

42 schools
Open schools 42
Pupils 14,008
School places 15,853
Capacity used 88.4%
Primary 23 schools
5,263 pupils
Other / specialist 14 schools
3,851 pupils
Secondary 4 schools
4,800 pupils
Nursery 1 school
94 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 3
7.1% of open schools
Previous full framework 16
38.1% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 11
26.2% of open schools
No Ofsted record 10
23.8% of open schools
No published outcome 2
4.8% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

3 schools assessed
Achievement 3 assessed
Expected standard 2
Strong standard 1
Attendance & behaviour 3 assessed
Expected standard 2
Strong standard 1
Curriculum & teaching 3 assessed
Expected standard 3
Inclusion 3 assessed
Expected standard 2
Strong standard 1
Leadership & governance 3 assessed
Expected standard 2
Strong standard 1
Personal development 3 assessed
Expected standard 2
Strong standard 1
Safeguarding 3 assessed
Met 3
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 4
Good 6
Not judged 6
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Barnett Wood Infant School URN 124982 · KT21 2DF Primary 139 156 Not judged
Charlwood Village Primary School URN 124946 · RH6 0DA Primary 101 105 Ungraded inspection
Eastwick Infant School URN 142998 · KT23 3PP Primary 180 285 Ungraded inspection
Eastwick Junior School URN 142999 · KT23 3PP Primary 284 360 Ungraded inspection
Fetcham Village Infant School URN 124983 · KT22 9JU Primary 178 180 Not judged
Great Bookham School URN 149115 · KT23 4JJ Primary 335 330 Not judged
Leatherhead Trinity School and Nursery URN 135009 · KT22 7BP Primary 350 420 Ungraded inspection
Newdigate CofE Endowed Aided Infant School URN 125192 · RH5 5DJ Primary 74 90 Ungraded inspection
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 88,709 2024
South East region 9,642,942
Mole Valley represents 0.92% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+1,947 residents ↑ 2.2%
2019: 86,762 residents2020: 86,924 residents2021: 87,599 residents2022: 87,931 residents2023: 88,529 residents2024: 88,709 residents
Mole Valley +2.2%
South East +4.9%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Mole Valley's population grew over five years. Its change was 2.6 percentage points below the South East 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 Mole Valley?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 5,436 6.1% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +10.1% +499 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +1.1% +57 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Mole Valley LOCAL AUTHORITY
6.1%
South East REGION
9.5%
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
5,436 4,831 4,226
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
£15.08m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£9.54m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£8.97m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£1.95m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £170
Median for councils of the same type £166 2.7% above peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Central services Gross £11.25m · Income £5.28m
£5.97m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £7.59m · Income £2.65m
£4.95m
Housing Gross £3.62m · Income £1.10m
£2.52m
Adult social care Gross £5.25m · Income £3.42m
£1.83m
Culture and related services Gross £6.74m · Income £5.12m
£1.62m
Planning and development Gross £3.81m · Income £3.97m
£-162.0k
Highways and transport Gross £1.14m · Income £2.78m
£-1.64m
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£8.97m
Retained business rates£3.13m
Revenue Support Grant£115.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £1.96m
Closing £1.95m
£7.0k decrease 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
£57.35m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£42.16m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£15.19m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£171 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £171
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 79.8% higher than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£2.61m quarterly increase
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement +£2.61m +20.7%
Change across the series −£67.20m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1
What changed?

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

BORROWING COMPOSITION

Where the borrowing sits

PWLB, other longer-term borrowing and short-term borrowing.

2026/27 Q1
Public Works Loan Board£57.35m
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
£6.13m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
98.01% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£142,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£100.95m 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
£6.13m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 91.1%
+ £2.92m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£3.21m 2021/22 £3.63m 2022/23 £4.42m 2023/24 £5.12m 2024/25 £6.13m 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.

£6.13m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.17m

35.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £3.96m

64.6% 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 98.01%

England average: 95.60%  ·  2.41 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 — Mole Valleymhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Mole Valleymhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Mole Valleymhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Mole Valley District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Mole Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Mole Valleymhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Mole Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Mole Valleymhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Mole Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Mole Valleymhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Mole Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Mole Valleymhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Mole Valleymhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Mole Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Mole Valleymhclg 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.