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Overview

East of England · Non-metropolitan district

Braintree

2026/27 view

Braintree · ONS E07000067

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 6 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover85
Debt burden90
Liquidity94
Debt direction83
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-80.08m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£13.42m 20.1%
Service expenditure £22.66m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£1.59m 6.6%
Unallocated reserves £10.22m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£1.78m 21.1%
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 £22.66m
3.6%
2020/21: £23.50m 2021/22: £19.03m 2022/23: £19.57m 2023/24: £24.25m 2024/25: £22.66m
Net revenue expenditure £17.19m
19.7%
2020/21: £21.43m 2021/22: £15.51m 2022/23: £16.99m 2023/24: £19.54m 2024/25: £17.19m
Council Tax requirement £14.68m
19.6%
2020/21: £12.27m 2021/22: £12.44m 2022/23: £13.08m 2023/24: £13.75m 2024/25: £14.68m
Unallocated reserves £10.22m
70.3%
2020/21: £6.00m 2021/22: £6.06m 2022/23: £7.13m 2023/24: £8.44m 2024/25: £10.22m
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 population164,3042024 estimate
Latest net debt£-80.08m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
46.2%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

2.7 percentage points vs 2023/24
59 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste452.4 kgper household+20.5 kg year on year
Waste collected364.2 kgper resident−7.2 kg year on year
Household waste59,857tonnes collected27,669 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

27,669 t recycled, composted or reused 32,188 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

46.2%
2015/16: 52.4%2016/17: 49.7%2017/18: 49.5%2018/19: 47.6%2019/20: 48.4%2020/21: 45.8%2021/22: 47.1%2022/23: 44.0%2023/24: 48.9%2024/25: 46.2%
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 Braintree.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
68 Open schools
21,326 Pupils
23,475 School places
90.8% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Braintree.

Attainment 8
43.1
East of England 46.2
England 46.1
3.0 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
40.8%
East of England 45.9%
England 45.4%
4.6 percentage points below England
EBacc entry
30.4%
East of England 40.0%
England 40.5%
10.1 percentage points below England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.20

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

45.1 18/19
48.7 19/20
50.4 20/21
47.8 21/22
44.9 22/23
44.2 23/24
43.1 24/25
Education context

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

2025
Median house price
£345,000
+ 19.0% over five years
Median resident earnings
£39,712
+ 19.3% over five years
House price to earnings
8.69×
Improved from 8.71× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Braintree.

£1,217 / month
+ 2.8% in the last year
July 2026
Braintree
£1,217
+ 2.8%
East of England
£1,285
+ 3.7%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with East of England £68 less per month
Compared with England £234 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Braintree
8.69×
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 received237this quarter−10 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided215this quarter0 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
85.6%approved
Overall approval rate184 granted31 refused+1.4 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

94.0%
Rank 123 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.5 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major1376.9%92.3% Minor6586.2%93.9% Other13786.1%94.2%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 2672024 Q3: 2482024 Q4: 2302025 Q1: 2892025 Q2: 2402025 Q3: 2442025 Q4: 2472026 Q1: 2372024 Q2: 2692024 Q3: 2562024 Q4: 2392025 Q1: 2052025 Q2: 2542025 Q3: 2432025 Q4: 2152026 Q1: 215
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

150%
Required2,154homes over three years
Delivered3,232homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 8,750 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 53.3 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 6.7% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Braintree Your council
53.3 − 6.7%
East of England Region
68.4 − 0.1%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Braintree has a recorded crime rate 22.2% below East of England. It is 36.2% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Essex
Violence 3,894
23.7 per 1,000 + 3.5%
Theft 2,174
13.2 per 1,000 − 22.0%
Public order 712
4.3 per 1,000 − 1.5%
Criminal damage 702
4.3 per 1,000 − 19.5%
Shoplifting 609
3.7 per 1,000 − 29.8%
Vehicle offences 451
2.7 per 1,000 − 23.3%
Burglary 342
2.1 per 1,000 − 12.5%
Drug offences 410
2.5 per 1,000 + 1.2%
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 Braintree.

68 schools
Open schools 68
Pupils 21,326
School places 23,475
Capacity used 90.8%
Primary 52 schools
12,323 pupils
Other / specialist 8 schools
1,010 pupils
Secondary 8 schools
7,993 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 8
11.8% of open schools
Previous full framework 33
48.5% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 22
32.4% of open schools
No Ofsted record 5
7.4% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

8 schools assessed
Achievement 8 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 3
Attendance & behaviour 8 assessed
Expected standard 8
Curriculum & teaching 8 assessed
Expected standard 7
Needs attention 1
Inclusion 8 assessed
Expected standard 6
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Leadership & governance 8 assessed
Expected standard 6
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Personal development 8 assessed
Expected standard 8
Safeguarding 8 assessed
Met 8
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 22
Requires improvement 1
Not judged 7
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Acorn Infant Academy URN 147255 · CM8 1NA Primary 196 270 Not judged
Beckers Green Primary School URN 147816 · CM7 3PR Primary 317 364 Ungraded inspection
Belchamp St Paul Church of England Primary School URN 144866 · CO10 7BP Primary 46 102 Good
Bocking Primary School URN 148305 · CM7 5LA Primary 203 210 Ungraded inspection
Chipping Hill Primary School URN 114827 · CM8 1FR Primary 421 420 Not judged
Colne Engaine Church of England Primary School URN 146923 · CO6 2HA Primary 88 112 Ungraded inspection
Cressing Primary School URN 148306 · CM77 8JE Primary 205 210 Ungraded inspection
Earls Colne Primary School and Nursery URN 115312 · CO6 2RH Primary 402 420 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 164,304 2024
East of England region 6,576,306
Braintree represents 2.50% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+10,865 residents ↑ 7.1%
2019: 153,439 residents2020: 154,107 residents2021: 155,693 residents2022: 157,656 residents2023: 160,494 residents2024: 164,304 residents
Braintree +7.1%
East of England +4.8%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Braintree's population grew over five years. Its change was 2.3 percentage points above the East of England and 2.8 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 Braintree?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 15,807 9.6% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.4% +1,229 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.5% +74 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Braintree LOCAL AUTHORITY
9.6%
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
15,807 14,563 13,318
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
£22.66m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£17.19m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£14.68m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£10.22m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £138
Median for councils of the same type £166 16.7% 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 £14.81m · Income £7.67m
£7.14m
Central services Gross £22.03m · Income £15.57m
£6.46m
Housing Gross £3.82m · Income £724.0k
£3.09m
Planning and development Gross £5.68m · Income £2.59m
£3.09m
Culture and related services Gross £2.66m · Income £416.0k
£2.25m
Other services Gross £3.92m · Income £2.77m
£1.16m
Highways and transport Gross £972.0k · Income £1.50m
£-524.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£14.68m
Retained business rates£7.42m
Revenue Support Grant£185.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £8.44m
Closing £10.22m
£1.78m 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
£4.40m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£84.48m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-80.08m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-487 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-487
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 611.9% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£13.42m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£13.42m −20.1%
Change across the series −£18.29m 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£4.40m
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
£10.25m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
97.37% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£742,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£127.72m 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
£10.25m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 41.8%
+ £3.02m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£7.23m 2021/22 £7.51m 2022/23 £8.30m 2023/24 £9.23m 2024/25 £10.25m 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.

£10.25m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £3.79m

37.0% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £6.46m

63.0% 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 97.37%

England average: 95.60%  ·  1.77 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 — Braintreemhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Braintreemhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Braintreemhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Braintree District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Braintreemhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Braintreemhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Braintreemhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Braintreemhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Braintreemhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Braintreemhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Braintreemhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Braintreemhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Braintreemhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Braintreemhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Braintreemhclg 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.