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Overview

South East · Non-metropolitan district

Arun

2026/27 view

Arun · ONS E07000224

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

49/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 82 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover40
Debt burden61
Liquidity75
Debt direction10
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-10.78m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
+£1.45m 11.9%
Service expenditure £26.92m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£2.23m 7.7%
Unallocated reserves £5.00m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
£0.00 0.0%
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 £26.92m
18.4%
2020/21: £22.74m 2021/22: £24.35m 2022/23: £26.07m 2023/24: £29.15m 2024/25: £26.92m
Net revenue expenditure £30.07m
34.4%
2020/21: £22.38m 2021/22: £24.48m 2022/23: £27.39m 2023/24: £30.34m 2024/25: £30.07m
Council Tax requirement £18.98m
15.4%
2020/21: £16.44m 2021/22: £16.87m 2022/23: £17.40m 2023/24: £18.28m 2024/25: £18.98m
Unallocated reserves £5.00m
25.7%
2020/21: £6.73m 2021/22: £14.46m 2022/23: £5.00m 2023/24: £5.00m 2024/25: £5.00m
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 population170,0642024 estimate
Latest net debt£-10.78m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
43.8%recycled
Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

1.3 percentage points vs 2023/24
74 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste433.1 kgper household+3.1 kg year on year
Waste collected361.3 kgper resident+11.0 kg year on year
Household waste61,474tonnes collected26,933 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

26,933 t recycled, composted or reused 34,541 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

43.8%
2015/16: 38.3%2016/17: 38.9%2017/18: 40.6%2018/19: 41.5%2019/20: 42.8%2020/21: 42.3%2021/22: 42.6%2022/23: 42.3%2023/24: 42.5%2024/25: 43.8%
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 Arun.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
46 Open schools
18,474 Pupils
20,259 School places
91.2% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Arun.

Attainment 8
42.9
South East 47.0
England 46.1
3.2 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
38.7%
South East 47.9%
England 45.4%
6.7 percentage points below England
EBacc entry
30.7%
South East 41.6%
England 40.5%
9.8 percentage points below England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.14

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

44.2 18/19
47.1 19/20
48.4 20/21
45.6 21/22
42.0 22/23
42.6 23/24
42.9 24/25
Education context

Arun'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 Arun, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£350,000
+ 20.7% over five years
Median resident earnings
£34,546
+ 19.6% over five years
House price to earnings
10.13×
Higher from 10.04× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Arun.

£1,227 / month
+ 3.1% in the last year
July 2026
Arun
£1,227
+ 3.1%
South East
£1,419
+ 2.9%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South East £192 less per month
Compared with England £224 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Arun
10.13×
South East
9.20×
England
7.64×
Compared with South East Less 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 received200this quarter+3 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided178this quarter−17 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
88.2%approved
Overall approval rate157 granted21 refused+5.1 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

95.5%
Rank 88 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.9 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major875.0%87.5% Minor4676.1%91.3% Other12493.6%97.6%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 1832024 Q3: 1902024 Q4: 1862025 Q1: 2242025 Q2: 2132025 Q3: 2062025 Q4: 1972026 Q1: 2002024 Q2: 2382024 Q3: 1652024 Q4: 1722025 Q1: 1682025 Q2: 2142025 Q3: 2072025 Q4: 1952026 Q1: 178
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

84%
Required4,007homes over three years
Delivered3,361homes over three years
100% requirement
20% bufferHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Arun, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 12,003 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 70.6 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 3.3% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Arun Your council
70.6 − 3.3%
South East Region
70.5 − 2.7%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Arun has a recorded crime rate 0.1% above South East. It is 15.4% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Sussex
Violence 4,453
26.2 per 1,000 + 1.7%
Theft 3,732
21.9 per 1,000 − 11.9%
Public order 993
5.8 per 1,000 − 4.8%
Criminal damage 1,261
7.4 per 1,000 + 0.4%
Shoplifting 1,531
9.0 per 1,000 − 15.5%
Vehicle offences 612
3.6 per 1,000 − 20.9%
Burglary 526
3.1 per 1,000 − 3.8%
Drug offences 347
2.0 per 1,000 + 10.5%
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 Arun.

46 schools
Open schools 46
Pupils 18,474
School places 20,259
Capacity used 91.2%
Primary 35 schools
10,137 pupils
Secondary 6 schools
7,936 pupils
Other / specialist 4 schools
243 pupils
Nursery 1 school
158 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 5
10.9% of open schools
Previous full framework 22
47.8% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 16
34.8% of open schools
No Ofsted record 3
6.5% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

5 schools assessed
Achievement 5 assessed
Needs attention 3
Expected standard 1
Strong standard 1
Attendance & behaviour 5 assessed
Expected standard 2
Strong standard 2
Needs attention 1
Curriculum & teaching 5 assessed
Expected standard 2
Needs attention 2
Strong standard 1
Inclusion 5 assessed
Expected standard 4
Strong standard 1
Leadership & governance 5 assessed
Expected standard 3
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Personal development 5 assessed
Expected standard 5
Safeguarding 5 assessed
Met 5
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 14
Requires improvement 1
Not judged 6
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Aldingbourne Primary School URN 125816 · PO20 3QR Primary 212 210 Ungraded inspection
Arundel CofE Primary School URN 126019 · BN18 9HT Primary 213 210 Ungraded inspection
Barnham Primary School URN 142141 · PO22 0HW Primary 313 315 Ungraded inspection
Bartons Primary School, Bognor Regis URN 125922 · PO21 5EJ Primary 207 210 Good
Bersted Green Primary School, Bognor Regis URN 125873 · PO22 9HT Primary 255 440 Not judged
Bishop Tufnell CofE Primary School, Felpham URN 126050 · PO22 6BN Primary 317 540 Good
Clapham and Patching CofE Primary School URN 148170 · BN13 3UU Primary 52 59 Renewed framework
Downview Primary School URN 140048 · PO22 8ER Primary 592 630 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 170,064 2024
South East region 9,642,942
Arun represents 1.76% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+6,754 residents ↑ 4.1%
2019: 163,310 residents2020: 163,661 residents2021: 165,219 residents2022: 166,288 residents2023: 168,102 residents2024: 170,064 residents
Arun +4.1%
South East +4.9%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Arun's population grew over five years. Its change was 0.7 percentage points below the South East and broadly in line with 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 Arun?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 18,319 10.8% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +10.4% +1,724 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.4% +67 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Arun LOCAL AUTHORITY
10.8%
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
18,319 16,513 14,706
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
£26.92m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£30.07m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£18.98m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£5.00m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £158
Median for councils of the same type £166 4.4% 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 £14.79m · Income £5.31m
£9.48m
Central services Gross £20.61m · Income £13.85m
£6.76m
Housing Gross £9.98m · Income £3.77m
£6.21m
Planning and development Gross £7.73m · Income £4.56m
£3.17m
Culture and related services Gross £5.17m · Income £2.81m
£2.37m
Highways and transport Gross £1.19m · Income £2.27m
£-1.07m
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£18.98m
Retained business rates£9.59m
Revenue Support Grant£207.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £5.00m
Closing £5.00m
£0.00 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
£35.46m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£46.24m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-10.78m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-63 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-63
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 166.6% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£1.45m quarterly increase
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement +£1.45m +11.9%
Change across the series +£14.20m 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£35.46m
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
£14.92m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
96.38% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£-82,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£155.53m 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
£14.92m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 72.2%
+ £6.26m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£8.66m 2021/22 £9.51m 2022/23 £10.89m 2023/24 £12.94m 2024/25 £14.92m 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.

£14.92m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £6.03m

40.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £8.89m

59.6% 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 96.38%

England average: 95.60%  ·  0.78 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 — Arunmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Arunmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Arunmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Arun District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Arunmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Arunmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Arunmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Arunmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Arunmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Arunmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Arunmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Arunmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Arunmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Arunmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Arunmhclg 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.