East of England · Non-metropolitan district

West Suffolk

2026/27 view

West Suffolk · ONS E07000245

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

63/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Mixed

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 56 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover49

Debt burden65

Liquidity84

Debt direction66

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

Net debt £-20.48m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

−£1.67m 8.9%

Service expenditure £24.52m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£169.0k 0.7%

Unallocated reserves £5.63m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£109.0k 2.0%

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 £24.52m

18.0%

Net revenue expenditure £27.04m

4.2%

Council Tax requirement £17.19m

20.3%

Unallocated reserves £5.63m

18.2%

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 population188,4852024 estimate

Latest net debt£-20.48m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for West Suffolk, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25

36.5%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.6 percentage points vs 2023/24

137 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste501.1 kgper household−4.9 kg year on year

Waste collected352.9 kgper resident−9.3 kg year on year

Household waste66,522tonnes collected24,288 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

24,288 t recycled, composted or reused 42,234 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

6 years of official data

36.5%

2019/202024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across West Suffolk.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

82 Open schools

24,787 Pupils

28,603 School places

86.7% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in West Suffolk.

Attainment 8

44.1

East of England 46.2

England 46.1

2.0 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

41.0%

East of England 45.9%

England 45.4%

4.4 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

34.0%

East of England 40.0%

England 40.5%

6.5 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.15

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

48.8 19/20

48.5 20/21

46.8 21/22

43.9 22/23

42.9 23/24

44.1 24/25

Education context

West Suffolk's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are below both East of England 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 West Suffolk, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£287,000

+ 14.1% over five years

Median resident earnings

£39,628

+ 34.4% over five years

House price to earnings

7.24×

Improved from 8.53× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in West Suffolk.

£1,179 / month

+ 3.9% in the last year

July 2026

West Suffolk

£1,179

+ 3.9%

East of England

£1,285

+ 3.7%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East of England £106 less per month

Compared with England £272 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

West Suffolk

7.24×

East of England

8.52×

England

7.64×

Compared with East of England 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 received276this quarter+16 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided210this quarter−24 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

93.3%approved

Overall approval rate196 granted14 refused+0.6 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

83.3%

Rank 249 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

9.4 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major6100.0%100.0% Minor5492.6%79.6% Other15093.3%84.0%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

89%

Required2,351homes over three years

Delivered2,096homes over three years

100% requirement

Action planHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for West Suffolk, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 18,474 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 46.6 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

West Suffolk Your council

46.6 − 0.4%

East of England Region

68.4 − 0.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

West Suffolk has a recorded crime rate 31.9% below East of England. It is 44.1% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Suffolk

Violence 8,014

20.2 per 1,000 + 3.6%

Theft 4,387

11.1 per 1,000 − 9.5%

Public order 1,409

3.6 per 1,000 − 3.6%

Criminal damage 1,856

4.7 per 1,000 − 4.3%

Shoplifting 1,182

3.0 per 1,000 − 11.1%

Vehicle offences 768

1.9 per 1,000 + 17.4%

Burglary 807

2.0 per 1,000 − 14.8%

Drug offences 658

1.7 per 1,000 − 1.1%

Crime figures cover the Western Suffolk Community Safety Partnership, including Babergh, Mid Suffolk, West Suffolk.

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 West Suffolk.

82 schools

Open schools 82

Pupils 24,787

School places 28,603

Capacity used 86.7%

Primary 53 schools

12,275 pupils

Other / specialist 16 schools

2,232 pupils

Secondary 11 schools

9,117 pupils

16+ provision 2 schools

1,163 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 4

4.9% of open schools

Previous full framework 51

62.2% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 13

15.9% of open schools

No Ofsted record 13

15.9% of open schools

No published outcome 1

1.2% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

4 schools assessed

Achievement 4 assessed

Expected standard 4

Attendance & behaviour 4 assessed

Expected standard 4

Curriculum & teaching 4 assessed

Expected standard 4

Inclusion 4 assessed

Expected standard 2

Strong standard 2

Leadership & governance 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 1

Personal development 4 assessed

Expected standard 2

Strong standard 2

Safeguarding 4 assessed

Met 4

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 3

Good 34

Requires improvement 2

Inadequate 2

Not judged 10

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Abbots Green Primary Academy URN 145698 · IP32 7PJ	Primary	608	420	Good
All Saints Church of England Primary School, Newmarket URN 146086 · CB8 8JE	Primary	177	210	Good
Bardwell Church of England Primary School URN 143056 · IP31 1AD	Primary	54	105	Good
Barnham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School URN 124688 · IP24 2NG	Primary	155	146	Ungraded inspection
Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School URN 124689 · IP31 1DD	Primary	70	120	Not judged
Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School URN 124690 · IP29 5AU	Primary	199	210	Not judged
Beck Row Primary Academy URN 144275 · IP28 8AE	Primary	243	269	Good
Burton End Primary Academy URN 141546 · CB9 9DE	Primary	449	468	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 188,485 2024

East of England region 6,576,306

Five-year population change

+8,782 residents ↑ 4.9%

West Suffolk +4.9%

East of England +4.8%

England +4.3%

Growth context

West Suffolk's population grew over five years. Its change was broadly in line with the East of England and 0.6 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 West Suffolk?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 16,624 8.8% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +7.6% +1,177 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.7% +118 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

West Suffolk LOCAL AUTHORITY

8.8%

East of England REGION

10.3%

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

16,624 15,334 14,043

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

£24.52m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£27.04m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£17.19m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£5.63m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £130

Median for councils of the same type £166 21.4% 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 £16.22m · Income £7.84m

£8.38m

Central services Gross £33.71m · Income £26.42m

£7.29m

Culture and related services Gross £9.32m · Income £4.48m

£4.84m

Housing Gross £6.10m · Income £1.84m

£4.26m

Planning and development Gross £7.84m · Income £5.07m

£2.78m

Highways and transport Gross £5.23m · Income £8.25m

£-3.02m

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£17.19m

Retained business rates£16.73m

Revenue Support Grant£448.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £5.52m

Closing £5.63m

£109.0k 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

£8.88m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£29.35m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£-20.48m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£-109 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £-109

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 214.1% lower than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£1.67m quarterly reduction

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

Latest quarterly movement −£1.67m −8.9%

Change across the series +£8.18m 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£8.88m

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

£13.05m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

96.67% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£1.04m Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£132.52m 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

£13.05m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 52.9%

+ £4.52m

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.

£13.05m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £4.69m

35.9% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £8.36m

64.1% 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 96.67%

England average: 95.60% · 1.07 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 — West Suffolk	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — West Suffolk	mhclg planning ps2	2019 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — West Suffolk	mhclg planning ps1	2019 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — West Suffolk Council	defra local authority waste	2019/20–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — West Suffolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — West Suffolk	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — West Suffolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — West Suffolk	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — West Suffolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — West Suffolk	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — West Suffolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — West Suffolk	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — West Suffolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — West Suffolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — West Suffolk	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.