East Midlands · Non-metropolitan district

North Kesteven

2026/27 view

North Kesteven · ONS E07000139

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

49/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 84 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover17

Debt burden50

Liquidity69

Debt direction94

YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.

Net debt £11.68m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

−£15.53m 57.1%

Service expenditure £16.62m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£836.0k 4.8%

Unallocated reserves £1.61m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£13.0k 0.8%

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 £16.62m

20.5%

Net revenue expenditure £19.58m

21.8%

Council Tax requirement £11.97m

20.1%

Unallocated reserves £1.61m

0.0%

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 population122,4682024 estimate

Latest net debt£11.68m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

41.6%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

2.2 percentage points vs 2023/24

105 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste495.0 kgper household+5.3 kg year on year

Waste collected382.3 kgper resident−10.2 kg year on year

Household waste46,823tonnes collected19,474 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

19,474 t recycled, composted or reused 27,348 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

41.6%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across North Kesteven.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

63 Open schools

16,820 Pupils

19,880 School places

84.6% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in North Kesteven.

Attainment 8

44.0

East Midlands 45.0

England 46.1

2.1 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

39.9%

East Midlands 43.1%

England 45.4%

5.5 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

54.7%

East Midlands 36.9%

England 40.5%

14.2 percentage points above England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.14

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

47.3 18/19

50.8 19/20

50.7 20/21

49.0 21/22

46.6 22/23

45.6 23/24

44.0 24/25

Education context

North Kesteven's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with East Midlands and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency

HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025

Median house price

£242,000

+ 19.2% over five years

Median resident earnings

£37,305

+ 20.0% over five years

House price to earnings

6.49×

Improved from 6.53× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in North Kesteven.

£820 / month

+ 5.7% in the last year

July 2026

North Kesteven

£820

+ 5.7%

East Midlands

£918

+ 3.6%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East Midlands £98 less per month

Compared with England £631 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

North Kesteven

6.49×

East Midlands

6.91×

England

7.64×

Compared with East Midlands More affordable

Compared with England More 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 received167this quarter+30 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided129this quarter−29 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

96.9%approved

Overall approval rate125 granted4 refused−2.5 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

99.2%

Rank 22 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.8 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major988.9%100.0% Minor2993.1%96.6% Other9198.9%100.0%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

141%

Required3,219homes over three years

Delivered4,544homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for North Kesteven, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 4,786 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 39.1 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change − 0.4% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

North Kesteven Your council

39.1 − 0.4%

East Midlands Region

76.6 − 1.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

North Kesteven has a recorded crime rate 49.0% below East Midlands. It is 53.2% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Lincolnshire

Violence 2,146

17.5 per 1,000 + 0.6%

Theft 1,192

9.7 per 1,000 − 1.2%

Public order 353

2.9 per 1,000 − 15.3%

Criminal damage 457

3.7 per 1,000 + 3.2%

Shoplifting 385

3.1 per 1,000 − 16.8%

Vehicle offences 168

1.4 per 1,000 − 23.3%

Burglary 226

1.8 per 1,000 + 24.9%

Drug offences 107

0.9 per 1,000 − 1.8%

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 North Kesteven.

63 schools

Open schools 63

Pupils 16,820

School places 19,880

Capacity used 84.6%

Primary 47 schools

8,723 pupils

Other / specialist 9 schools

215 pupils

Secondary 7 schools

7,882 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 1

1.6% of open schools

Previous full framework 34

54.0% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 19

30.2% of open schools

No Ofsted record 9

14.3% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

1 schools assessed

Achievement 1 assessed

Needs attention 1

Attendance & behaviour 1 assessed

Needs attention 1

Curriculum & teaching 1 assessed

Needs attention 1

Inclusion 1 assessed

Expected standard 1

Leadership & governance 1 assessed

Urgent improvement 1

Personal development 1 assessed

Needs attention 1

Safeguarding 1 assessed

Not met 1

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 2

Good 19

Requires improvement 3

Not judged 10

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Bassingham Primary School URN 145437 · LN5 9HQ	Primary	167	215	Ungraded inspection
Bracebridge Heath St John's Primary Academy URN 137794 · LN4 2LD	Primary	358	418	Good
Branston Church of England Infant Academy URN 144122 · LN4 1PR	Primary	132	135	Outstanding
Branston Junior Academy URN 138486 · LN4 1LH	Primary	174	180	Ungraded inspection
Brant Broughton Church of England and Methodist Primary School URN 120594 · LN5 0RP	Primary	61	105	Not judged
Church Lane Primary School & Nursery URN 120387 · NG34 7DF	Primary	218	210	Not judged
Coleby Church of England Primary Academy URN 152021 · LN5 0AJ	Primary	43	84	Requires improvement
Cranwell Primary School (Foundation) URN 120674 · NG34 8HH	Primary	269	420	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 122,468 2024

East Midlands region 5,063,164

Five-year population change

+6,647 residents ↑ 5.7%

North Kesteven +5.7%

East Midlands +4.5%

England +4.3%

Growth context

North Kesteven's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.2 percentage points above the East Midlands and 1.5 percentage points above 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 North Kesteven?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 9,932 8.1% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +7.9% +723 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.4% +36 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

North Kesteven LOCAL AUTHORITY

8.1%

East Midlands REGION

11.8%

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

9,932 9,061 8,189

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

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

£16.62m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£19.58m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£11.97m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£1.61m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £136

Median for councils of the same type £166 18.0% below peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Central services Gross £20.07m · Income £13.68m

£6.38m

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £8.26m · Income £2.33m

£5.93m

Planning and development Gross £6.96m · Income £4.71m

£2.26m

Culture and related services Gross £3.52m · Income £2.17m

£1.36m

Housing Gross £4.22m · Income £3.73m

£489.0k

Highways and transport Gross £627.0k · Income £427.0k

£200.0k

Adult social care Gross £809.0k · Income £805.0k

£4.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£11.97m

Retained business rates£11.71m

Revenue Support Grant£120.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £1.61m

Closing £1.61m

£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

£91.67m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£79.99m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£11.68m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£95 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £95

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 0.2% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£15.53m quarterly reduction

2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1

Latest quarterly movement −£15.53m −57.1%

Change across the series −£15.46m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1

What changed?

Net debt reduced during the latest quarter as the balance between borrowing and investments improved.

BORROWING COMPOSITION

Where the borrowing sits

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

2026/27 Q1

Public Works Loan Board£81.67m

Short-term borrowing£10.00m

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

£7.45m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

98.05% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£206,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£88.96m 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

£7.45m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 74.3%

+ £3.17m

ENGLAND CHANGE

+49.5%

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.

£7.45m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £1.76m

23.6% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £5.69m

76.4% 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 98.05%

England average: 95.60% · 2.45 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

Contract	Supplier	Status	End date	Original value

SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions

Supplier	Payments	Published expenditure

PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported

Document	Dataset	Period	Status	Official source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — North Kesteven	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — North Kesteven	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — North Kesteven	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — North Kesteven District Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — North Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — North Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2024/25	imported	Open

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.