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Overview

South East · Non-metropolitan district

Vale of White Horse

2026/27 view

Vale of White Horse · ONS E07000180

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

88/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Strong

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 4 of 164 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover98
Debt burden99
Debt direction46
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-164.32m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£5.62m 3.5%
Service expenditure £24.38m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£4.99m 25.7%
Unallocated reserves £25.44m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£369.0k 1.4%
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 £24.38m
16.6%
2020/21: £20.91m 2021/22: £20.69m 2022/23: £21.74m 2023/24: £19.39m 2024/25: £24.38m
Net revenue expenditure £16.58m
21.3%
2020/21: £21.07m 2021/22: £18.10m 2022/23: £17.04m 2023/24: £12.34m 2024/25: £16.58m
Council Tax requirement £14.63m
27.8%
2020/21: £11.44m 2021/22: £12.10m 2022/23: £12.81m 2023/24: £13.62m 2024/25: £14.63m
Unallocated reserves £25.44m
139.7%
2020/21: £10.61m 2021/22: £10.61m 2022/23: £11.78m 2023/24: £25.81m 2024/25: £25.44m
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 population149,3472024 estimate
Latest net debt£-164.32m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for Vale of White Horse, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25
58.9%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

1.8 percentage points vs 2023/24
8 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste317.1 kgper household+13.9 kg year on year
Waste collected333.5 kgper resident−3.2 kg year on year
Household waste49,958tonnes collected29,426 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

29,426 t recycled, composted or reused 20,531 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

58.9%
2015/16: 64.8%2016/17: 62.5%2017/18: 62.5%2018/19: 62.5%2019/20: 63.3%2020/21: 62.6%2021/22: 61.9%2022/23: 60.9%2023/24: 60.7%2024/25: 58.9%
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 Vale of White Horse.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
73 Open schools
24,091 Pupils
28,955 School places
83.2% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Vale of White Horse.

Attainment 8
44.2
South East 47.0
England 46.1
1.9 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
44.1%
South East 47.9%
England 45.4%
1.3 percentage points below England
EBacc entry
38.7%
South East 41.6%
England 40.5%
1.8 percentage points below England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.08

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

47.8 18/19
50.1 19/20
51.9 20/21
49.3 21/22
46.8 22/23
44.6 23/24
44.2 24/25
Education context

Vale of White Horse's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are below 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 Vale of White Horse, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£402,500
+ 15.0% over five years
Median resident earnings
£44,454
+ 17.8% over five years
House price to earnings
9.05×
Improved from 9.27× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Vale of White Horse.

£1,343 / month
+ 1.7% in the last year
July 2026
Vale of White Horse
£1,343
+ 1.7%
South East
£1,419
+ 2.9%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South East £76 less per month
Compared with England £108 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Vale of White Horse
9.05×
South East
9.20×
England
7.64×
Compared with South East More 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 received302this quarter+71 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided259this quarter+5 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
95.8%approved
Overall approval rate248 granted11 refused+1.7 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

96.1%
Rank 73 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

1.3 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major5100.0%80.0% Minor5292.3%94.2% Other20296.5%97.0%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 3272024 Q3: 2922024 Q4: 2252025 Q1: 3162025 Q2: 2402025 Q3: 2892025 Q4: 2312026 Q1: 3022024 Q2: 2432024 Q3: 2932024 Q4: 2552025 Q1: 2302025 Q2: 2352025 Q3: 2672025 Q4: 2542026 Q1: 259
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

192%
Required1,922homes over three years
Delivered3,699homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Vale of White Horse, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 6,925 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 46.4 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change + 1.1% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Vale of White Horse Your council
46.4 + 1.1%
South East Region
70.5 − 2.7%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Vale of White Horse has a recorded crime rate 34.2% below South East. It is 44.4% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Thames Valley
Violence 2,873
19.2 per 1,000 + 6.0%
Theft 1,727
11.6 per 1,000 − 3.6%
Public order 743
5.0 per 1,000 + 5.8%
Criminal damage 659
4.4 per 1,000 − 8.6%
Shoplifting 457
3.1 per 1,000 − 24.2%
Vehicle offences 258
1.7 per 1,000 − 8.8%
Burglary 299
2.0 per 1,000 + 14.6%
Drug offences 316
2.1 per 1,000 − 7.3%
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 Vale of White Horse.

73 schools
Open schools 73
Pupils 24,091
School places 28,955
Capacity used 83.2%
Primary 50 schools
11,135 pupils
Other / specialist 13 schools
4,645 pupils
Secondary 8 schools
7,984 pupils
16+ provision 1 school
0 pupils
All-through 1 school
327 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 7
9.6% of open schools
Previous full framework 26
35.6% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 26
35.6% of open schools
No Ofsted record 12
16.4% of open schools
No published outcome 2
2.7% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

7 schools assessed
Achievement 7 assessed
Expected standard 3
Needs attention 3
Strong standard 1
Attendance & behaviour 7 assessed
Expected standard 4
Strong standard 2
Needs attention 1
Curriculum & teaching 7 assessed
Expected standard 4
Needs attention 2
Strong standard 1
Inclusion 7 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 2
Leadership & governance 7 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Personal development 7 assessed
Expected standard 3
Strong standard 3
Needs attention 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 2
Good 14
Requires improvement 2
Not judged 8
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Appleton Church of England (A) Primary School URN 123219 · OX13 5JL Primary 139 196 Good
Ashbury With Compton Beauchamp Church of England Primary School URN 149419 · SN6 8LN Primary 48 115 Renewed framework
Blewbury Church of England Primary School URN 147641 · OX11 9QB Primary 82 175 Good
Botley School URN 147759 · OX2 9JZ Primary 189 210 Requires improvement
Buckland Church of England Primary School URN 140278 · SN7 8RB Primary 111 105 Ungraded inspection
Caldecott Primary School URN 123087 · OX14 5HB Primary 360 420 Good
Carswell Community Primary School URN 123080 · OX14 1DP Primary 210 200 Ungraded inspection
Charlton Primary School URN 140237 · OX12 7HG Primary 444 420 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 149,347 2024
South East region 9,642,942
Vale of White Horse represents 1.55% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+14,307 residents ↑ 10.6%
2019: 135,040 residents2020: 136,889 residents2021: 139,400 residents2022: 142,501 residents2023: 145,795 residents2024: 149,347 residents
Vale of White Horse +10.6%
South East +4.9%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Vale of White Horse's population grew over five years. Its change was 5.7 percentage points above the South East and 6.3 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 Vale of White Horse?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 10,831 7.3% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +7.5% +753 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.8% +86 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Vale of White Horse LOCAL AUTHORITY
7.3%
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
10,831 9,892 8,953
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
£24.38m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£16.58m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£14.63m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£25.44m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £163
Median for councils of the same type £166 1.4% below peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Central services Gross £14.62m · Income £3.48m
£11.14m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £10.70m · Income £3.11m
£7.60m
Planning and development Gross £6.71m · Income £3.71m
£3.00m
Housing Gross £3.24m · Income £1.41m
£1.83m
Culture and related services Gross £3.17m · Income £2.28m
£887.0k
Highways and transport Gross £658.0k · Income £730.0k
£-72.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£14.63m
Retained business rates£1.86m
Revenue Support Grant£125.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £25.72m
Closing £25.44m
£279.0k 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
£0.00 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£164.32m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-164.32m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-1,100 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-1,100
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 1,255.6% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£5.62m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£5.62m −3.5%
Change across the series −£53.64m 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
£14.12m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
97.43% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£78,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£146.23m 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
£14.12m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 49.6%
+ £4.68m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£9.44m 2021/22 £9.71m 2022/23 £10.77m 2023/24 £12.11m 2024/25 £14.12m 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.

£14.12m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £3.98m

28.2% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £10.14m

71.8% 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 97.43%

England average: 95.60%  ·  1.83 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 — Vale of White Horsemhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Vale of White Horsemhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Vale of White Horsemhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Vale of White Horse District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Vale of White Horse DCmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Vale of White Horse DCmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Vale of White Horsemhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Vale of White Horsemhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Vale of White Horsemhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Vale of White Horsemhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Vale of White Horse DCmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Vale of White Horse DCmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Vale of White Horsemhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Vale of White Horse DCmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Vale of White Horse DCmhclg 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.