⌘ K
Overview

East of England · Non-metropolitan district

Breckland

2026/27 view

Breckland · ONS E07000143

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

64/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Mixed

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 52 of 164 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover52
Debt burden73
Debt direction75
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-33.50m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£4.76m 16.6%
Service expenditure £25.43m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£3.04m 13.6%
Unallocated reserves £3.56m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£1.06m 42.5%
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 £25.43m
26.4%
2020/21: £20.11m 2021/22: £26.19m 2022/23: £21.47m 2023/24: £22.39m 2024/25: £25.43m
Net revenue expenditure £15.50m
8.6%
2020/21: £16.96m 2021/22: £19.67m 2022/23: £14.55m 2023/24: £15.14m 2024/25: £15.50m
Council Tax requirement £10.83m
28.0%
2020/21: £8.46m 2021/22: £8.79m 2022/23: £9.26m 2023/24: £10.05m 2024/25: £10.83m
Unallocated reserves £3.56m
25.0%
2020/21: £2.85m 2021/22: £2.82m 2022/23: £2.66m 2023/24: £2.50m 2024/25: £3.56m
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 population146,6202024 estimate
Latest net debt£-33.50m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
39.3%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.4 percentage points vs 2023/24
120 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste494.6 kgper household+1.2 kg year on year
Waste collected366.1 kgper resident−1.8 kg year on year
Household waste53,723tonnes collected21,103 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

21,103 t recycled, composted or reused 32,621 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

39.3%
2015/16: 39.9%2016/17: 40.3%2017/18: 40.1%2018/19: 37.4%2019/20: 38.7%2020/21: 38.6%2021/22: 40.2%2022/23: 38.0%2023/24: 39.7%2024/25: 39.3%
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 Breckland.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
74 Open schools
17,555 Pupils
21,171 School places
82.9% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Breckland.

Attainment 8
43.3
East of England 46.2
England 46.1
2.8 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
43.0%
East of England 45.9%
England 45.4%
2.4 percentage points below England
EBacc entry
48.6%
East of England 40.0%
England 40.5%
8.1 percentage points above England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.10

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

42.9 18/19
47.7 19/20
49.8 20/21
47.2 21/22
44.4 22/23
42.1 23/24
43.3 24/25
Education context

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

2025
Median house price
£265,000
+ 17.8% over five years
Median resident earnings
£34,399
+ 29.4% over five years
House price to earnings
7.70×
Improved from 8.46× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Breckland.

£925 / month
+ 3.0% in the last year
July 2026
Breckland
£925
+ 3.0%
East of England
£1,285
+ 3.7%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with East of England £360 less per month
Compared with England £526 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Breckland
7.70×
East of England
8.52×
England
7.64×
Compared with East of England More 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 received224this quarter+19 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided191this quarter+5 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
89.0%approved
Overall approval rate170 granted21 refused+7.3 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

82.2%
Rank 253 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

6.0 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major8100.0%87.5% Minor7577.3%73.3% Other10896.3%88.0%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 2152024 Q3: 1702024 Q4: 1952025 Q1: 2662025 Q2: 1932025 Q3: 2212025 Q4: 2052026 Q1: 2242024 Q2: 2202024 Q3: 1412024 Q4: 1112025 Q1: 1892025 Q2: 2242025 Q3: 2002025 Q4: 1862026 Q1: 191
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

144%
Required1,841homes over three years
Delivered2,648homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 7,199 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 49.1 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 4.1% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Breckland Your council
49.1 − 4.1%
East of England Region
68.4 − 0.1%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Breckland has a recorded crime rate 28.3% below East of England. It is 41.2% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Norfolk
Violence 3,163
21.6 per 1,000 − 3.1%
Theft 1,567
10.7 per 1,000 − 2.1%
Public order 565
3.9 per 1,000 − 4.2%
Criminal damage 749
5.1 per 1,000 − 11.8%
Shoplifting 564
3.8 per 1,000 + 1.4%
Vehicle offences 213
1.5 per 1,000 + 3.9%
Burglary 205
1.4 per 1,000 − 2.8%
Drug offences 259
1.8 per 1,000 − 14.8%
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 Breckland.

74 schools
Open schools 74
Pupils 17,555
School places 21,171
Capacity used 82.9%
Primary 55 schools
9,166 pupils
Other / specialist 11 schools
1,231 pupils
Secondary 7 schools
6,431 pupils
All-through 1 school
727 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 9
12.2% of open schools
Previous full framework 41
55.4% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 15
20.3% of open schools
No Ofsted record 8
10.8% of open schools
No published outcome 1
1.4% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

9 schools assessed
Achievement 9 assessed
Expected standard 6
Needs attention 3
Attendance & behaviour 9 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 4
Curriculum & teaching 9 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 2
Strong standard 2
Inclusion 9 assessed
Strong standard 5
Expected standard 4
Leadership & governance 9 assessed
Expected standard 6
Strong standard 3
Personal development 9 assessed
Strong standard 7
Expected standard 2
Safeguarding 9 assessed
Met 9
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.

Good 27
Requires improvement 4
Inadequate 1
Not judged 9
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Admirals Academy URN 145028 · IP24 2JT Primary 201 360 Good
Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School URN 121026 · IP25 7AP Primary 109 109 Good
Attleborough Primary School URN 151655 · NR17 2NA Primary 365 437 Not judged
Banham Primary School URN 143463 · NR16 2EX Primary 95 120 Not judged
Bawdeswell Community Primary School URN 143949 · NR20 4RR Primary 85 105 Good
Beeston Primary School URN 144317 · PE32 2NQ Primary 91 80 Ungraded inspection
Brisley Church of England Primary Academy URN 146558 · NR20 5LH Primary 67 105 Good
Caston Church of England Primary Academy URN 148152 · NR17 1DD Primary 71 105 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 146,620 2024
East of England region 6,576,306
Breckland represents 2.23% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+7,097 residents ↑ 5.1%
2019: 139,523 residents2020: 140,408 residents2021: 142,160 residents2022: 143,422 residents2023: 144,934 residents2024: 146,620 residents
Breckland +5.1%
East of England +4.8%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Breckland's population grew over five years. Its change was broadly in line with the East of England and 0.8 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 Breckland?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 14,760 10.1% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.2% +1,115 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.7% +105 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Breckland LOCAL AUTHORITY
10.1%
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
14,760 13,483 12,205
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
£25.43m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£15.50m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£10.83m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£3.56m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £173
Median for councils of the same type £166 4.8% above peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Central services Gross £11.56m · Income £4.73m
£6.84m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £9.71m · Income £3.99m
£5.72m
Culture and related services Gross £4.76m · Income £732.5k
£4.03m
Housing Gross £8.59m · Income £4.97m
£3.62m
Planning and development Gross £6.62m · Income £3.18m
£3.43m
Highways and transport Gross £996.7k · Income £92.6k
£904.1k
Other services Gross £881.1k · Income £0.00
£881.1k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£10.83m
Retained business rates£7.00m
Revenue Support Grant£1.00m
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £2.50m
Closing £3.56m
£1.06m 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
£0.00 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£33.50m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-33.50m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-228 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-228
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 339.9% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£4.76m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£4.76m −16.6%
Change across the series +£1.95m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1
What changed?

Net debt reduced during the latest quarter as the balance between borrowing and investments improved.

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
£9.98m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
96.93% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£727,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£108.59m 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
£9.98m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 57.0%
+ £3.62m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£6.35m 2021/22 £6.68m 2022/23 £7.82m 2023/24 £8.95m 2024/25 £9.98m 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.

£9.98m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £3.53m

35.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £6.45m

64.6% 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 96.93%

England average: 95.60%  ·  1.33 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 — Brecklandmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Brecklandmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Brecklandmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Breckland Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Brecklandmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Brecklandmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Brecklandmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Brecklandmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Brecklandmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Brecklandmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Brecklandmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Brecklandmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Brecklandmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Brecklandmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Brecklandmhclg 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.