East Midlands · Non-metropolitan district

South Kesteven

2026/27 view

South Kesteven · ONS E07000141

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

39/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 109 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover42

Debt burden42

Liquidity51

Debt direction10

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

Net debt £37.52m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

+£4.11m 12.3%

Service expenditure £16.90m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£454.0k 2.8%

Unallocated reserves £2.54m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£4.14m 62.0%

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 £16.90m

1.6%

Net revenue expenditure £14.36m

14.4%

Council Tax requirement £11.54m

19.3%

Unallocated reserves £2.54m

26.2%

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 population147,1512024 estimate

Latest net debt£37.52m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

38.0%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

2.5 percentage points vs 2023/24

129 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste474.8 kgper household+1.0 kg year on year

Waste collected351.3 kgper resident−15.0 kg year on year

Household waste51,699tonnes collected19,642 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

19,642 t recycled, composted or reused 32,057 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

38.0%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

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

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

77 Open schools

23,574 Pupils

26,721 School places

88.2% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in South Kesteven.

Attainment 8

48.4

East Midlands 45.0

England 46.1

2.3 points above England

English & maths grade 5+

46.2%

East Midlands 43.1%

England 45.4%

0.8 percentage points above England

EBacc entry

36.1%

East Midlands 36.9%

England 40.5%

4.4 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.26

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

49.9 18/19

52.7 19/20

53.5 20/21

52.2 21/22

50.3 22/23

48.3 23/24

48.4 24/25

Education context

South 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 South Kesteven, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£265,000

+ 20.5% over five years

Median resident earnings

£34,922

+ 27.4% over five years

House price to earnings

7.59×

Improved from 8.02× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

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

£843 / month

+ 0.8% in the last year

July 2026

South Kesteven

£843

+ 0.8%

East Midlands

£918

+ 3.6%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East Midlands £75 less per month

Compared with England £608 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

South Kesteven

7.59×

East Midlands

6.91×

England

7.64×

Compared with East Midlands 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 received227this quarter−24 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided221this quarter−11 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

90.1%approved

Overall approval rate199 granted22 refused−2.2 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

89.6%

Rank 196 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

3.1 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major7100.0%100.0% Minor6575.4%78.5% Other14996.0%94.0%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

97%

Required1,959homes over three years

Delivered1,900homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 7,782 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 52.9 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change − 3.7% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

South Kesteven Your council

52.9 − 3.7%

East Midlands Region

76.6 − 1.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

South Kesteven has a recorded crime rate 31.0% below East Midlands. It is 36.6% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Lincolnshire

Violence 3,145

21.4 per 1,000 − 0.4%

Theft 2,254

15.3 per 1,000 − 8.2%

Public order 619

4.2 per 1,000 − 9.2%

Criminal damage 769

5.2 per 1,000 + 0.4%

Shoplifting 852

5.8 per 1,000 − 7.5%

Vehicle offences 449

3.1 per 1,000 + 0.2%

Burglary 309

2.1 per 1,000 − 13.7%

Drug offences 175

1.2 per 1,000 − 6.9%

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 South Kesteven.

77 schools

Open schools 77

Pupils 23,574

School places 26,721

Capacity used 88.2%

Primary 52 schools

10,508 pupils

Other / specialist 13 schools

2,675 pupils

Secondary 10 schools

10,297 pupils

16+ provision 1 school

0 pupils

Nursery 1 school

94 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 7

9.1% of open schools

Previous full framework 38

49.4% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 21

27.3% of open schools

No Ofsted record 10

13.0% of open schools

No published outcome 1

1.3% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

7 schools assessed

Achievement 7 assessed

Expected standard 5

Needs attention 2

Attendance & behaviour 7 assessed

Strong standard 3

Expected standard 2

Needs attention 2

Curriculum & teaching 7 assessed

Expected standard 5

Needs attention 2

Inclusion 7 assessed

Expected standard 6

Strong standard 1

Leadership & governance 7 assessed

Expected standard 7

Personal development 7 assessed

Expected standard 6

Strong standard 1

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 1

Good 23

Requires improvement 1

Not judged 13

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Allington with Sedgebrook Church of England Primary School URN 120511 · NG32 2DY	Primary	83	112	Good
Ancaster CofE Primary School URN 120512 · NG32 3QQ	Primary	186	175	Ungraded inspection
Barkston and Syston CofE Primary School URN 120689 · NG32 2NB	Primary	94	105	Ungraded inspection
Barrowby Church of England Primary School URN 120513 · NG32 1BX	Primary	241	238	Not judged
Baston CE Primary School URN 120514 · PE6 9PB	Primary	188	210	Not judged
Belmont Community Primary School URN 120401 · NG31 9LR	Primary	198	210	Not judged
Belton Lane Community Primary School URN 120392 · NG31 9PP	Primary	303	320	Not judged
Billingborough Primary School URN 151274 · NG34 0NX	Primary	116	164	No published outcome

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 147,151 2024

East Midlands region 5,063,164

Five-year population change

+4,939 residents ↑ 3.5%

South Kesteven +3.5%

East Midlands +4.5%

England +4.3%

Growth context

South Kesteven's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.1 percentage points below the East Midlands and 0.8 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 South Kesteven?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 14,096 9.6% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +5.6% +747 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.5% +69 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

South Kesteven LOCAL AUTHORITY

9.6%

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

14,198 13,219 12,239

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

AIR QUALITY

How clean is the air?

Long-term particulate pollution across the council area, alongside measurements from local UK-AIR monitoring stations.

POPULATION-WEIGHTED ANNUAL MEAN

Fine particulate matter

No annual PM2.5 estimate is currently available.

LONG-TERM TREND

PM2.5 over time

Not enough annual data is available to show a trend.

CURRENT MONITORING

Latest station measurement

UK-AIR

PM2.5 3.7 µg/m³

Provisional

Last 24 hours 2.5 – 6.5 µg/m³

Tallington Automatic Urban and Rural Monitoring Network (AURN) · Rural Background Latest measurement: 2026-09-23 01:00:00+01

This is a measurement from an individual monitoring station and should not be interpreted as the current concentration across the whole council area.

HEALTH IMPACT

Particulate air pollution

No current OHID particulate-air-pollution mortality estimate is available.

Annual PM2.5 is Defra Pollution Climate Mapping data. Monitoring readings are station-specific UK-AIR measurements and may be provisional.

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

£16.90m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£14.36m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£11.54m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£2.54m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £115

Median for councils of the same type £166 30.6% below peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Central services Gross £15.56m · Income £10.08m

£5.48m

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £8.08m · Income £2.81m

£5.26m

Culture and related services Gross £4.36m · Income £1.42m

£2.94m

Planning and development Gross £7.55m · Income £5.98m

£1.57m

Housing Gross £2.66m · Income £1.32m

£1.35m

Highways and transport Gross £1.89m · Income £1.58m

£310.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£11.54m

Retained business rates£4.48m

Revenue Support Grant£153.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £6.68m

Closing £2.54m

£4.14m 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

£76.55m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£39.03m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£37.52m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£255 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £255

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 167.8% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£4.11m quarterly increase

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

Latest quarterly movement +£4.11m +12.3%

Change across the series +£15.04m 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£76.55m

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

£10.11m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

98.31% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£1.06m Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£108.72m 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

£10.11m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 88.9%

+ £4.76m

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.

£10.11m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.02m

20.0% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £8.09m

80.0% 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 98.31%

England average: 95.60% · 2.71 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 — South Kesteven	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — South Kesteven	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — South Kesteven	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — South Kesteven District Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — South Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — South Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — South Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — South Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — South Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — South Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — South Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — South Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — South Kesteven	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — South Kesteven	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — South 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.