East of England · Non-metropolitan district

East Cambridgeshire

2026/27 view

East Cambridgeshire · ONS E07000009

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

36/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 118 of 164 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover18

Debt burden74

Debt direction5

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

Net debt £-21.68m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

+£8.46m 28.1%

Service expenditure £17.42m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£1.21m 7.5%

Unallocated reserves £1.39m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£148.0k 12.0%

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 £17.42m

16.9%

Net revenue expenditure £15.79m

45.7%

Council Tax requirement £7.96m

17.7%

Unallocated reserves £1.39m

32.6%

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 population92,9062024 estimate

Latest net debt£-21.68m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

54.8%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

1.2 percentage points vs 2023/24

23 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste346.4 kgper household+0.4 kg year on year

Waste collected341.4 kgper resident−8.9 kg year on year

Household waste31,720tonnes collected17,397 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

17,397 t recycled, composted or reused 14,323 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

54.8%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across East Cambridgeshire.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

40 Open schools

14,415 Pupils

16,264 School places

88.6% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in East Cambridgeshire.

Attainment 8

48.1

East of England 46.2

England 46.1

2.0 points above England

English & maths grade 5+

50.0%

East of England 45.9%

England 45.4%

4.6 percentage points above England

EBacc entry

33.6%

East of England 40.0%

England 40.5%

6.9 percentage points below 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

47.7 18/19

50.9 19/20

52.2 20/21

52.4 21/22

49.2 22/23

48.9 23/24

48.1 24/25

Education context

East Cambridgeshire'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 East Cambridgeshire, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£340,000

+ 11.7% over five years

Median resident earnings

£41,464

+ 26.6% over five years

House price to earnings

8.20×

Improved from 9.30× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in East Cambridgeshire.

£1,035 / month

+ 0.6% in the last year

July 2026

East Cambridgeshire

£1,035

+ 0.6%

East of England

£1,285

+ 3.7%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East of England £250 less per month

Compared with England £416 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

East Cambridgeshire

8.20×

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 received176this quarter−37 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided136this quarter−85 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

89.0%approved

Overall approval rate121 granted15 refused+3.0 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

93.4%

Rank 130 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

3.0 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major666.7%100.0% Minor4185.4%82.9% Other8992.1%97.8%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

116%

Required1,773homes over three years

Delivered2,058homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for East Cambridgeshire, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 4,287 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 46.1 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change + 2.4% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

East Cambridgeshire Your council

46.1 + 2.4%

East of England Region

68.4 − 0.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

East Cambridgeshire has a recorded crime rate 32.6% below East of England. It is 44.7% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Cambridgeshire

Violence 1,665

17.9 per 1,000 − 1.8%

Theft 1,455

15.7 per 1,000 + 15.6%

Public order 228

2.5 per 1,000 − 19.4%

Criminal damage 411

4.4 per 1,000 − 12.2%

Shoplifting 417

4.5 per 1,000 − 4.6%

Vehicle offences 271

2.9 per 1,000 + 39.7%

Burglary 311

3.3 per 1,000 + 35.8%

Drug offences 95

1.0 per 1,000 + 17.3%

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 East Cambridgeshire.

40 schools

Open schools 40

Pupils 14,415

School places 16,264

Capacity used 88.6%

Primary 29 schools

7,080 pupils

Other / specialist 6 schools

1,517 pupils

Secondary 5 schools

5,818 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 3

7.5% of open schools

Previous full framework 21

52.5% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 13

32.5% of open schools

No Ofsted record 3

7.5% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

3 schools assessed

Achievement 3 assessed

Expected standard 1

Needs attention 1

Strong standard 1

Attendance & behaviour 3 assessed

Strong standard 2

Expected standard 1

Curriculum & teaching 3 assessed

Expected standard 2

Strong standard 1

Inclusion 3 assessed

Expected standard 2

Strong standard 1

Leadership & governance 3 assessed

Expected standard 2

Strong standard 1

Personal development 3 assessed

Strong standard 2

Expected standard 1

Safeguarding 3 assessed

Met 3

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 11

Requires improvement 4

Not judged 5

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Bottisham Community Primary School URN 145425 · CB25 9BE	Primary	245	304	Ungraded inspection
Burrough Green CofE Primary Academy URN 150756 · CB8 9NH	Primary	51	117	Requires improvement
Burwell Village College (Primary) URN 110758 · CB25 0DU	Primary	374	450	Good
Cheveley CofE Primary School URN 110785 · CB8 9DF	Primary	143	140	Ungraded inspection
Ditton Lodge Primary School URN 144054 · CB8 8BL	Primary	204	210	Renewed framework
Downham Feoffees Primary Academy URN 144947 · CB6 2ST	Primary	150	210	Good
Ely St John's Community Primary School URN 110773 · CB6 3BW	Primary	371	420	Not judged
Ely St Mary's CofE Junior School URN 141707 · CB7 4RB	Primary	226	480	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 92,906 2024

East of England region 6,576,306

Five-year population change

+5,896 residents ↑ 6.8%

East Cambridgeshire +6.8%

East of England +4.8%

England +4.3%

Growth context

East Cambridgeshire's population grew over five years. Its change was 2.0 percentage points above the East of England and 2.5 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 East Cambridgeshire?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 7,236 7.8% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +9.0% +597 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.7% +53 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

East Cambridgeshire LOCAL AUTHORITY

7.8%

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

7,236 6,497 5,757

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

AIR QUALITY

How clean is the air?

Long-term particulate pollution across the council area, alongside measurements from local UK-AIR monitoring stations.

POPULATION-WEIGHTED ANNUAL MEAN

Fine particulate matter

No annual PM2.5 estimate is currently available.

LONG-TERM TREND

PM2.5 over time

Not enough annual data is available to show a trend.

CURRENT MONITORING

Latest station measurement

UK-AIR

PM2.5 5.8 µg/m³

Provisional

Last 24 hours 2.5 – 8.0 µg/m³

Wicken Fen Automatic Urban and Rural Monitoring Network (AURN); Black Carbon · Rural Background Latest measurement: 2026-09-23 01:00:00+01

This is a measurement from an individual monitoring station and should not be interpreted as the current concentration across the whole council area.

HEALTH IMPACT

Particulate air pollution

No current OHID particulate-air-pollution mortality estimate is available.

Annual PM2.5 is Defra Pollution Climate Mapping data. Monitoring readings are station-specific UK-AIR measurements and may be provisional.

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

£17.42m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£15.79m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£7.96m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£1.39m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £187

Median for councils of the same type £166 13.2% 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 £8.13m · Income £482.0k

£7.65m

Planning and development Gross £5.90m · Income £1.74m

£4.16m

Central services Gross £4.53m · Income £1.45m

£3.08m

Housing Gross £6.08m · Income £3.66m

£2.42m

Highways and transport Gross £428.0k · Income £233.0k

£195.0k

Culture and related services Gross £1.26m · Income £1.35m

£-90.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£7.96m

Retained business rates£7.81m

Revenue Support Grant£109.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £1.24m

Closing £1.39m

£148.0k 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

£0.00 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£21.68m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£-21.68m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£-233 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £-233

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 345.0% lower than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£8.46m quarterly increase

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

Latest quarterly movement +£8.46m +28.1%

Change across the series −£6.70m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1

What changed?

Net debt increased despite borrowing not rising because investments and cash fell during the quarter.

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

£5.61m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

97.50% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£376,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£78.03m 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

£5.61m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 79.0%

+ £2.48m

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.

£5.61m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.04m

36.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £3.57m

63.6% 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 97.50%

England average: 95.60% · 1.90 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 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — East Cambridgeshire District Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — East Cambridgeshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — East Cambridgeshire	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.