⌘ K
Overview

West Midlands · Non-metropolitan district

Wyre Forest

2026/27 view

Wyre Forest · ONS E07000239

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

65/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Good

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 50 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover75
Debt burden54
Liquidity62
Debt direction67
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £7.07m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£928.0k 11.6%
Service expenditure £12.98m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£363.0k 2.9%
Unallocated reserves £6.77m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£1.09m 19.3%
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 £12.98m
23.1%
2020/21: £10.54m 2021/22: £12.85m 2022/23: £10.35m 2023/24: £12.62m 2024/25: £12.98m
Net revenue expenditure £16.57m
44.9%
2020/21: £11.44m 2021/22: £15.29m 2022/23: £11.26m 2023/24: £11.17m 2024/25: £16.57m
Council Tax requirement £10.50m
19.9%
2020/21: £8.76m 2021/22: £9.04m 2022/23: £9.43m 2023/24: £9.97m 2024/25: £10.50m
Unallocated reserves £6.77m
20.9%
2020/21: £5.60m 2021/22: £5.34m 2022/23: £5.12m 2023/24: £5.68m 2024/25: £6.77m
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 population103,9132024 estimate
Latest net debt£7.07m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for Wyre Forest, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25
32.9%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.8 percentage points vs 2023/24
156 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste482.1 kgper household−4.3 kg year on year
Waste collected339.8 kgper resident−5.7 kg year on year
Household waste35,313tonnes collected11,617 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

11,617 t recycled, composted or reused 23,697 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

32.9%
2015/16: 30.9%2016/17: 32.8%2017/18: 32.8%2018/19: 32.6%2019/20: 31.9%2020/21: 33.6%2021/22: 33.7%2022/23: 33.1%2023/24: 33.7%2024/25: 32.9%
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 Wyre Forest.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
41 Open schools
13,746 Pupils
15,883 School places
86.5% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Wyre Forest.

Attainment 8
41.4
West Midlands 44.6
England 46.1
4.7 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
35.6%
West Midlands 41.7%
England 45.4%
9.8 percentage points below England
EBacc entry
43.8%
West Midlands 37.9%
England 40.5%
3.3 percentage points above England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.41

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

44.6 18/19
47.1 19/20
47.7 20/21
45.2 21/22
42.3 22/23
41.0 23/24
41.4 24/25
Education context

Wyre Forest's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with West Midlands and England.

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

Housing costs and local earnings

House prices and affordability for Wyre Forest, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£260,000
+ 33.5% over five years
Median resident earnings
£34,661
+ 14.7% over five years
House price to earnings
7.50×
Higher from 6.45× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Wyre Forest.

£823 / month
-2.3% in the last year
July 2026
Wyre Forest
£823
-2.3%
West Midlands
£974
+ 4.5%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with West Midlands £151 less per month
Compared with England £628 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Wyre Forest
7.50×
West Midlands
6.80×
England
7.64×
Compared with West 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 received127this quarter+20 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided77this quarter−19 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
96.1%approved
Overall approval rate74 granted3 refused+10.7 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

98.7%
Rank 30 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.8 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major3100.0%100.0% Minor1687.5%93.8% Other5898.3%100.0%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 1162024 Q3: 1052024 Q4: 1012025 Q1: 1412025 Q2: 1072025 Q3: 1402025 Q4: 1072026 Q1: 1272024 Q2: 1082024 Q3: 1162024 Q4: 1002025 Q1: 982025 Q2: 1282025 Q3: 1262025 Q4: 962026 Q1: 77
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

212%
Required671homes over three years
Delivered1,421homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Wyre Forest, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 18,728 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 63.8 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 2.2% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Wyre Forest Your council
63.8 − 2.2%
West Midlands Region
82.2 − 1.2%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Wyre Forest has a recorded crime rate 22.4% below West Midlands. It is 23.5% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

West Mercia
Violence 7,500
25.6 per 1,000 + 3.7%
Theft 5,662
19.3 per 1,000 − 12.5%
Public order 1,462
5.0 per 1,000 − 10.1%
Criminal damage 1,711
5.8 per 1,000 − 4.3%
Shoplifting 2,015
6.9 per 1,000 − 8.5%
Vehicle offences 1,112
3.8 per 1,000 − 22.4%
Burglary 942
3.2 per 1,000 − 12.6%
Drug offences 489
1.7 per 1,000 + 15.6%
Crime figures cover the North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership, including Bromsgrove, Redditch, Wyre Forest.
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 Wyre Forest.

41 schools
Open schools 41
Pupils 13,746
School places 15,883
Capacity used 86.5%
Primary 27 schools
7,241 pupils
Other / specialist 8 schools
903 pupils
Secondary 5 schools
4,879 pupils
All-through 1 school
723 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 2
4.9% of open schools
Previous full framework 29
70.7% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 4
9.8% of open schools
No Ofsted record 5
12.2% of open schools
No published outcome 1
2.4% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

2 schools assessed
Achievement 2 assessed
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Attendance & behaviour 2 assessed
Expected standard 1
Needs attention 1
Curriculum & teaching 2 assessed
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Inclusion 2 assessed
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Leadership & governance 2 assessed
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Personal development 2 assessed
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Safeguarding 2 assessed
Met 2
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 14
Not judged 12
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Bewdley Primary School URN 135076 · DY12 1BL Primary 431 460 Not judged
Birchen Coppice Academy URN 144650 · DY11 7JJ Primary 181 210 Not judged
Blakedown CofE Primary School URN 116784 · DY10 3JN Primary 194 210 Ungraded inspection
Burlish Park Primary School URN 146433 · DY13 8LA Primary 455 420 Good
Chaddesley Corbett Endowed Primary School URN 135046 · DY10 4QN Primary 249 250 Not judged
Comberton Primary School URN 135047 · DY10 3ED Primary 376 420 Not judged
Cookley Sebright Primary School URN 135048 · DY10 3TA Primary 230 210 Good
Far Forest Lea Memorial CofE Primary School URN 149304 · DY14 9TQ Primary 86 140 Not judged
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 103,913 2024
West Midlands region 6,187,204
Wyre Forest represents 1.68% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+2,321 residents ↑ 2.3%
2019: 101,592 residents2020: 101,315 residents2021: 101,791 residents2022: 102,335 residents2023: 103,151 residents2024: 103,913 residents
Wyre Forest +2.3%
West Midlands +4.5%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Wyre Forest's population grew over five years. Its change was 2.2 percentage points below the West Midlands and 2.0 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 Wyre Forest?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 12,188 11.7% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.7% +974 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.4% +45 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Wyre Forest LOCAL AUTHORITY
11.7%
West Midlands REGION
13.9%
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
12,213 11,002 9,791
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
£12.98m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£16.57m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£10.50m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£6.77m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £125
Median for councils of the same type £166 24.5% below peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Central services Gross £16.69m · Income £11.84m
£4.85m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £6.47m · Income £2.77m
£3.70m
Housing Gross £4.38m · Income £2.09m
£2.29m
Culture and related services Gross £2.55m · Income £1.44m
£1.10m
Planning and development Gross £4.90m · Income £3.91m
£986.0k
Highways and transport Gross £2.16m · Income £2.01m
£150.0k
Public health Gross £241.0k · Income £259.0k
£-18.0k
Adult social care Gross £214.0k · Income £306.0k
£-92.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£10.50m
Retained business rates£4.48m
Revenue Support Grant£160.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £5.68m
Closing £6.77m
£1.09m 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
£30.33m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£23.26m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£7.07m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£68 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £68
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 28.6% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£928.0k quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£928.0k −11.6%
Change across the series −£11.97m 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£30.00m
Short-term borrowing£326.0k
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
£7.52m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
97.23% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£534,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£79.46m 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
£7.52m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 47.5%
+ £2.42m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£5.10m 2021/22 £5.89m 2022/23 £6.41m 2023/24 £6.99m 2024/25 £7.52m 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.

£7.52m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.29m

30.5% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £5.23m

69.5% 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 97.23%

England average: 95.60%  ·  1.63 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 — Wyre Forestmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Wyre Forestmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Wyre Forestmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Wyre Forest District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Wyre Forestmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Wyre Forestmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Wyre Forestmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Wyre Forestmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Wyre Forestmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Wyre Forestmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Wyre Forestmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Wyre Forestmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Wyre Forestmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Wyre Forestmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Wyre Forestmhclg 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.