South East · Non-metropolitan district

Dover

2026/27 view

Dover · ONS E07000108

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

29/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 131 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover10

Debt burden33

Liquidity50

Debt direction39

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

Net debt £62.66m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

−£1.08m 1.7%

Service expenditure £24.64m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£183.8k 0.8%

Unallocated reserves £1.50m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£6.0k 0.4%

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 £24.64m

0.6%

Net revenue expenditure £25.52m

26.7%

Council Tax requirement £12.12m

19.2%

Unallocated reserves £1.50m

40.9%

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 population119,7682024 estimate

Latest net debt£62.66m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

43.3%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.4 percentage points vs 2023/24

80 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste404.8 kgper household−12.0 kg year on year

Waste collected333.0 kgper resident−13.0 kg year on year

Household waste39,881tonnes collected17,257 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

17,257 t recycled, composted or reused 22,623 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

43.3%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Dover.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

63 Open schools

16,687 Pupils

20,240 School places

82.4% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Dover.

Attainment 8

41.8

South East 47.0

England 46.1

4.3 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

39.4%

South East 47.9%

England 45.4%

6.0 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

34.1%

South East 41.6%

England 40.5%

6.4 percentage points below 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

44.4 18/19

47.5 19/20

48.2 20/21

44.7 21/22

42.5 22/23

42.8 23/24

41.8 24/25

Education context

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

2025

Median house price

£295,000

+ 18.0% over five years

Median resident earnings

£40,142

+ 16.4% over five years

House price to earnings

7.35×

Higher from 7.25× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Dover.

£1,029 / month

+ 9.7% in the last year

July 2026

Dover

£1,029

+ 9.7%

South East

£1,419

+ 2.9%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with South East £390 less per month

Compared with England £422 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Dover

7.35×

South East

9.20×

England

7.64×

Compared with South East More 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 received166this quarter−30 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided175this quarter−10 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

85.7%approved

Overall approval rate150 granted25 refused−2.4 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

92.6%

Rank 146 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

2.8 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major5100.0%100.0% Minor6078.3%90.0% Other11089.1%93.6%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

108%

Required1,779homes over three years

Delivered1,926homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 9,153 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 76.4 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change − 7.0% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

Dover Your council

76.4 − 7.0%

South East Region

70.5 − 2.7%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

Dover has a recorded crime rate 8.4% above South East. It is 8.4% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Kent

Violence 4,120

34.4 per 1,000 − 9.3%

Theft 2,115

17.7 per 1,000 − 6.1%

Public order 475

4.0 per 1,000 − 15.0%

Criminal damage 1,074

9.0 per 1,000 − 7.2%

Shoplifting 813

6.8 per 1,000 + 14.0%

Vehicle offences 353

2.9 per 1,000 − 28.4%

Burglary 224

1.9 per 1,000 − 14.2%

Drug offences 382

3.2 per 1,000 + 8.5%

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 Dover.

63 schools

Open schools 63

Pupils 16,687

School places 20,240

Capacity used 82.4%

Primary 41 schools

8,129 pupils

Other / specialist 13 schools

1,279 pupils

Secondary 9 schools

7,279 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 4

6.3% of open schools

Previous full framework 27

42.9% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 21

33.3% of open schools

No Ofsted record 11

17.5% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

4 schools assessed

Achievement 4 assessed

Expected standard 2

Needs attention 1

Urgent improvement 1

Attendance & behaviour 4 assessed

Strong standard 2

Needs attention 1

Urgent improvement 1

Curriculum & teaching 4 assessed

Expected standard 2

Needs attention 2

Inclusion 4 assessed

Strong standard 2

Expected standard 1

Needs attention 1

Leadership & governance 4 assessed

Expected standard 2

Needs attention 1

Urgent improvement 1

Personal development 4 assessed

Expected standard 4

Safeguarding 4 assessed

Met 4

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 2

Good 14

Requires improvement 1

Not judged 10

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School URN 118745 · CT3 2JD	Primary	183	210	Good
Aycliffe Community Primary School URN 118449 · CT17 9HJ	Primary	82	135	Ungraded inspection
Aylesham Primary School URN 151466 · CT3 3BS	Primary	382	420	Ungraded inspection
Barton Junior School URN 138169 · CT16 2ND	Primary	202	240	Ungraded inspection
Capel-le-Ferne Primary School URN 118515 · CT18 7HB	Primary	170	210	Good
Charlton Church of England Primary School URN 141659 · CT16 2LX	Primary	206	210	Ungraded inspection
Deal Parochial Church of England Primary School URN 147053 · CT14 7ER	Primary	207	210	Ungraded inspection
Dover, St Mary's Church of England Primary School URN 118748 · CT16 1QX	Primary	161	210	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 119,768 2024

South East region 9,642,942

Five-year population change

+3,866 residents ↑ 3.3%

Dover +3.3%

South East +4.9%

England +4.3%

Growth context

Dover's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.6 percentage points below the South East and 0.9 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 Dover?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 15,376 12.8% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +7.9% +1,123 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.5% +69 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

Dover LOCAL AUTHORITY

12.8%

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

15,385 14,141 12,897

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

£24.64m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£25.52m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£12.12m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£1.50m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £206

Median for councils of the same type £166 24.3% above peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Central services Gross £12.28m · Income £4.05m

£8.23m

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £15.46m · Income £8.91m

£6.55m

Housing Gross £8.25m · Income £2.22m

£6.03m

Planning and development Gross £8.95m · Income £4.34m

£4.61m

Other services Gross £3.30m · Income £1.91m

£1.39m

Culture and related services Gross £3.64m · Income £4.70m

£-1.06m

Highways and transport Gross £2.04m · Income £3.15m

£-1.11m

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£12.12m

Retained business rates£9.89m

Revenue Support Grant£254.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £1.51m

Closing £1.50m

£6.0k decrease 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

£126.11m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£63.45m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£62.66m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£523 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £523

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 449.4% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£1.08m quarterly reduction

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

Latest quarterly movement −£1.08m −1.7%

Change across the series +£28.15m 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£62.61m

Short-term borrowing£63.50m

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

£17.96m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

95.97% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£341,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£96.92m 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

£17.96m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 70.5%

+ £7.43m

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.

£17.96m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £4.31m

24.0% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £13.65m

76.0% 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 95.97%

England average: 95.60% · 0.37 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 — Dover	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Dover	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Dover	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — Dover District Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Dover	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Dover	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Dover	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Dover	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Dover	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Dover	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Dover	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Dover	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Dover	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Dover	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Dover	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.