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Overview

North West · Non-metropolitan district

Ribble Valley

2026/27 view

Ribble Valley · ONS E07000124

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

86/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Strong

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 11 of 164 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover83
Debt burden88
Debt direction87
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-30.11m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£6.34m 26.7%
Service expenditure £9.26m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£236.1k 2.5%
Unallocated reserves £4.08m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£1.19m 41.0%
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 £9.26m
10.2%
2020/21: £8.41m 2021/22: £9.35m 2022/23: £8.58m 2023/24: £9.50m 2024/25: £9.26m
Net revenue expenditure £7.25m
8.6%
2020/21: £6.68m 2021/22: £5.92m 2022/23: £6.70m 2023/24: £7.57m 2024/25: £7.25m
Council Tax requirement £4.95m
18.3%
2020/21: £4.19m 2021/22: £4.24m 2022/23: £4.46m 2023/24: £4.72m 2024/25: £4.95m
Unallocated reserves £4.08m
61.1%
2020/21: £2.53m 2021/22: £2.96m 2022/23: £2.72m 2023/24: £2.90m 2024/25: £4.08m
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 population65,7942024 estimate
Latest net debt£-30.11m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
38.2%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.4 percentage points vs 2023/24
126 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste479.9 kgper household−26.0 kg year on year
Waste collected350.4 kgper resident−26.1 kg year on year
Household waste23,052tonnes collected8,801 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

8,801 t recycled, composted or reused 14,252 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

38.2%
2015/16: 40.1%2016/17: 37.0%2017/18: 30.8%2018/19: 31.7%2019/20: 34.6%2020/21: 34.6%2021/22: 37.6%2022/23: 36.5%2023/24: 38.6%2024/25: 38.2%
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 Ribble Valley.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
45 Open schools
12,467 Pupils
13,525 School places
92.2% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Ribble Valley.

Attainment 8
49.9
North West 44.6
England 46.1
3.8 points above England
English & maths grade 5+
51.2%
North West 42.0%
England 45.4%
5.8 percentage points above England
EBacc entry
31.4%
North West 36.7%
England 40.5%
9.1 percentage points below England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.16

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

53.4 18/19
56.1 19/20
57.5 20/21
52.1 21/22
50.1 22/23
49.4 23/24
49.9 24/25
Education context

Ribble Valley's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with North West and England.

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

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025
Median house price
£275,000
+ 15.5% over five years
Median resident earnings
£40,870
+ 20.3% over five years
House price to earnings
6.73×
Improved from 7.01× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

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

£816 / month
+ 5.5% in the last year
July 2026
Ribble Valley
£816
+ 5.5%
North West
£965
+ 5.7%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with North West £149 less per month
Compared with England £635 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Ribble Valley
6.73×
North West
5.90×
England
7.64×
Compared with North West Less 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 received138this quarter+29 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided100this quarter−30 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
84.0%approved
Overall approval rate84 granted16 refused+1.7 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

94.0%
Rank 120 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.2 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major366.7%66.7% Minor2878.6%92.9% Other6987.0%95.7%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 1452024 Q3: 1562024 Q4: 1282025 Q1: 1622025 Q2: 1342025 Q3: 1302025 Q4: 1092026 Q1: 1382024 Q2: 1322024 Q3: 1422024 Q4: 1462025 Q1: 1132025 Q2: 1662025 Q3: 1242025 Q4: 1302026 Q1: 100
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

425%
Required365homes over three years
Delivered1,552homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 2,576 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 39.2 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change + 7.6% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Ribble Valley Your council
39.2 + 7.6%
North West Region
89.4 − 0.9%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Ribble Valley has a recorded crime rate 56.2% below North West. It is 53.1% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Lancashire
Violence 1,186
18.0 per 1,000 + 15.6%
Theft 662
10.1 per 1,000 − 6.0%
Public order 139
2.1 per 1,000 + 4.5%
Criminal damage 254
3.9 per 1,000 − 9.9%
Shoplifting 100
1.5 per 1,000 − 9.1%
Vehicle offences 135
2.1 per 1,000 − 29.7%
Burglary 154
2.3 per 1,000 − 6.1%
Drug offences 53
0.8 per 1,000 − 5.4%
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 Ribble Valley.

45 schools
Open schools 45
Pupils 12,467
School places 13,525
Capacity used 92.2%
Primary 32 schools
5,016 pupils
Other / specialist 6 schools
1,306 pupils
Secondary 5 schools
4,648 pupils
All-through 1 school
1,437 pupils
Nursery 1 school
60 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 7
15.6% of open schools
Previous full framework 17
37.8% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 16
35.6% of open schools
No Ofsted record 5
11.1% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

7 schools assessed
Achievement 7 assessed
Expected standard 4
Needs attention 3
Attendance & behaviour 7 assessed
Expected standard 6
Needs attention 1
Curriculum & teaching 7 assessed
Expected standard 4
Needs attention 3
Inclusion 7 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Leadership & governance 7 assessed
Expected standard 6
Needs attention 1
Personal development 7 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 2
Safeguarding 7 assessed
Met 7
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 8
Requires improvement 1
Inadequate 1
Not judged 5
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Longridge URN 151005 · PR3 3BJ Primary 235 210 Ungraded inspection
Balderstone St Leonard's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School URN 119415 · BB2 7LL Primary 106 105 Ungraded inspection
Barnacre Road Primary School URN 150407 · PR3 2PD Primary 201 210 Inadequate
Barrow URC Primary School URN 119397 · BB7 9AZ Primary 206 210 Good
Bolton by Bowland Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School URN 119688 · BB7 4NP Primary 25 58 Renewed framework
Brabins Endowed School URN 119395 · PR3 2QD Primary 85 105 Outstanding
Chatburn Church of England Primary School URN 119418 · BB7 4AS Primary 132 112 Not judged
Clitheroe Brookside Primary School URN 119321 · BB7 1NW Primary 87 210 Renewed framework
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 65,794 2024
North West region 7,737,414
Ribble Valley represents 0.85% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+5,891 residents ↑ 9.8%
2019: 59,903 residents2020: 60,780 residents2021: 61,865 residents2022: 63,235 residents2023: 64,736 residents2024: 65,794 residents
Ribble Valley +9.8%
North West +5.1%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Ribble Valley's population grew over five years. Its change was 4.8 percentage points above the North West and 5.6 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 Ribble Valley?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 3,885 5.9% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.7% +310 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE -0.3% -10 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Ribble Valley LOCAL AUTHORITY
5.9%
North West REGION
14.0%
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
3,895 3,582 3,269
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
£9.26m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£7.25m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£4.95m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£4.08m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £141
Median for councils of the same type £166 15.0% below peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £5.33m · Income £1.41m
£3.92m
Central services Gross £12.36m · Income £9.79m
£2.57m
Culture and related services Gross £3.70m · Income £1.90m
£1.81m
Planning and development Gross £1.77m · Income £864.7k
£904.6k
Housing Gross £976.7k · Income £727.6k
£249.1k
Adult social care Gross £21.5k · Income £0.00
£21.5k
Highways and transport Gross £701.5k · Income £917.0k
£-215.5k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£4.95m
Retained business rates£4.36m
Revenue Support Grant£52.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £2.90m
Closing £4.08m
£1.19m 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
£30.11m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-30.11m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-458 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-458
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 580.6% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£6.34m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£6.34m −26.7%
Change across the series −£9.16m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1
What changed?

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

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
£2.12m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
99.63% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£45,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£59.59m 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
£2.12m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 11.9%
+ £226,000
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£1.89m 2021/22 £1.86m 2022/23 £1.93m 2023/24 £2.02m 2024/25 £2.12m 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.

£2.12m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £241,000

11.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £1.88m

88.6% 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 99.63%

England average: 95.60%  ·  4.02 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 — Ribble Valleymhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Ribble Valleymhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Ribble Valleymhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Ribble Valley Borough Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Ribble Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Ribble Valleymhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Ribble Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Ribble Valleymhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Ribble Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Ribble Valleymhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Ribble Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Ribble Valleymhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Ribble Valleymhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Ribble Valleymhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Ribble 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.