East of England · Non-metropolitan district

Basildon

2026/27 view

Basildon · ONS E07000066

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

24/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 145 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover47

Debt burden4

Liquidity9

Debt direction29

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

Net debt £479.48m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

+£5.00m 1.1%

Service expenditure £34.84m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£1.31m 3.6%

Unallocated reserves £6.31m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£482.0k 8.3%

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 £34.84m

3.4%

Net revenue expenditure £31.82m

11.8%

Council Tax requirement £18.92m

7.7%

Unallocated reserves £6.31m

36.5%

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 population193,6322024 estimate

Latest net debt£479.48m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

47.9%recycled

Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

3.9 percentage points vs 2023/24

53 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste463.4 kgper household−57.0 kg year on year

Waste collected368.1 kgper resident−22.4 kg year on year

Household waste71,300tonnes collected34,153 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

34,153 t recycled, composted or reused 37,147 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

47.9%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Basildon.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

59 Open schools

30,397 Pupils

32,191 School places

94.4% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Basildon.

Attainment 8

43.0

East of England 46.2

England 46.1

3.1 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

40.3%

East of England 45.9%

England 45.4%

5.1 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

58.7%

East of England 40.0%

England 40.5%

18.2 percentage points above England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.34

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

44.7 18/19

47.1 19/20

47.9 20/21

45.6 21/22

43.6 22/23

42.9 23/24

43.0 24/25

Education context

Basildon's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with East of England and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency

HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025

Median house price

£362,500

+ 18.1% over five years

Median resident earnings

£39,734

+ 21.9% over five years

House price to earnings

9.12×

Improved from 9.42× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Basildon.

£1,421 / month

+ 5.8% in the last year

July 2026

Basildon

£1,421

+ 5.8%

East of England

£1,285

+ 3.7%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East of England £136 more per month

Compared with England £30 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Basildon

9.12×

East of England

8.52×

England

7.64×

Compared with East of England 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 received210this quarter−3 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided191this quarter−1 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

92.7%approved

Overall approval rate177 granted14 refused+7.3 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

82.7%

Rank 251 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

4.1 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major250.0%50.0% Minor6493.8%87.5% Other12592.8%80.8%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

23%

Required3,123homes over three years

Delivered731homes over three years

100% requirement

Presumption in favourHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 16,426 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 84.8 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

Basildon Your council

84.8 − 2.2%

East of England Region

68.4 − 0.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

Basildon has a recorded crime rate 24.0% above East of England. It is 1.7% above the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Essex

Violence 6,623

34.2 per 1,000 + 5.9%

Theft 4,676

24.1 per 1,000 − 18.9%

Public order 1,226

6.3 per 1,000 − 1.6%

Criminal damage 1,581

8.2 per 1,000 − 0.9%

Shoplifting 1,499

7.7 per 1,000 − 12.9%

Vehicle offences 1,261

6.5 per 1,000 − 26.9%

Burglary 622

3.2 per 1,000 − 28.3%

Drug offences 858

4.4 per 1,000 + 36.6%

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 Basildon.

59 schools

Open schools 59

Pupils 30,397

School places 32,191

Capacity used 94.4%

Primary 46 schools

18,516 pupils

Secondary 9 schools

11,065 pupils

Other / specialist 4 schools

816 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 6

10.2% of open schools

Previous full framework 31

52.5% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 18

30.5% of open schools

No Ofsted record 1

1.7% of open schools

No published outcome 3

5.1% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

6 schools assessed

Achievement 6 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 2

Needs attention 1

Attendance & behaviour 6 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 2

Urgent improvement 1

Curriculum & teaching 6 assessed

Expected standard 4

Strong standard 2

Inclusion 6 assessed

Expected standard 5

Strong standard 1

Leadership & governance 6 assessed

Expected standard 4

Needs attention 1

Strong standard 1

Personal development 6 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 3

Safeguarding 6 assessed

Met 6

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

Requires improvement 1

Not judged 13

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Abacus Primary School URN 133312 · SS12 9GJ	Primary	413	420	Ungraded inspection
Bardfield Academy URN 143203 · SS16 4NL	Primary	421	420	Requires improvement
Brightside Primary School URN 132164 · CM12 0LE	Primary	621	630	Ungraded inspection
Briscoe Primary School & Nursery URN 138404 · SS13 1PN	Primary	335	315	Ungraded inspection
Buttsbury Primary School URN 136734 · CM12 0QR	Primary	863	872	Renewed framework
Chapel Hill Primary School & Nursery URN 150736 · SS16 5NQ	Primary	356	420	No published outcome
Cherry Tree Primary School URN 143452 · SS16 4AG	Primary	384	420	Not judged
Crays Hill Primary School URN 145772 · CM11 2UZ	Primary	82	105	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 193,632 2024

East of England region 6,576,306

Five-year population change

+5,918 residents ↑ 3.2%

Basildon +3.2%

East of England +4.8%

England +4.3%

Growth context

Basildon's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.7 percentage points below the East of England and 1.1 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 Basildon?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 23,807 12.3% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +6.1% +1,365 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.5% +117 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

Basildon LOCAL AUTHORITY

12.3%

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

23,937 22,097 20,256

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

£34.84m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£31.82m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£18.92m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£6.31m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £180

Median for councils of the same type £166 8.7% above peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £22.83m · Income £10.38m

£12.45m

Culture and related services Gross £13.38m · Income £5.64m

£7.74m

Central services Gross £32.95m · Income £26.18m

£6.77m

Housing Gross £11.00m · Income £6.54m

£4.46m

Planning and development Gross £7.99m · Income £4.34m

£3.65m

Highways and transport Gross £621.0k · Income £852.0k

£-231.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£18.92m

Retained business rates£12.64m

Revenue Support Grant£284.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £5.83m

Closing £6.31m

£482.0k 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

£518.48m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£39.00m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£479.48m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£2,476 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £2,476

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 2,500.6% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£5.00m quarterly increase

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

Latest quarterly movement +£5.00m +1.1%

Change across the series +£271.50m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1

What changed?

Net debt increased during the quarter, with higher outstanding borrowing contributing to the movement.

BORROWING COMPOSITION

Where the borrowing sits

PWLB, other longer-term borrowing and short-term borrowing.

2026/27 Q1

Public Works Loan Board£335.48m

Short-term borrowing£183.00m

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

£24.20m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

96.32% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£1.36m Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£136.79m 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

£24.20m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 31.2%

+ £5.76m

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.

£24.20m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £5.42m

22.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £18.78m

77.6% 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 96.32%

England average: 95.60% · 0.72 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 — Basildon	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Basildon	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Basildon	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — Basildon District Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Basildon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Basildon	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Basildon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Basildon	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Basildon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Basildon	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Basildon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Basildon	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Basildon	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Basildon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Basildon	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.