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Overview

South East · Non-metropolitan district

Guildford

2026/27 view

Guildford · ONS E07000209

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

44/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 97 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover90
Debt burden6
Liquidity25
Debt direction39
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £287.57m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£4.67m 1.6%
Service expenditure £22.58m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£4.54m 25.1%
Unallocated reserves £11.62m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£11.62m
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 £22.58m
60.5%
2020/21: £57.12m 2021/22: £16.57m 2022/23: £16.34m 2023/24: £18.04m 2024/25: £22.58m
Net revenue expenditure £14.29m
71.7%
2020/21: £50.58m 2021/22: £15.48m 2022/23: £14.47m 2023/24: £15.00m 2024/25: £14.29m
Council Tax requirement £14.20m
17.6%
2020/21: £12.07m 2021/22: £12.33m 2022/23: £12.93m 2023/24: £13.57m 2024/25: £14.20m
Unallocated reserves £11.62m
210.0%
2020/21: £3.75m 2021/22: £3.75m 2022/23: £3.75m 2023/24: £0.00 2024/25: £11.62m
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 population151,3592024 estimate
Latest net debt£287.57m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
58.0%recycled
Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

0.1 percentage points vs 2023/24
9 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste351.8 kgper household+4.3 kg year on year
Waste collected345.8 kgper resident+1.9 kg year on year
Household waste52,414tonnes collected30,399 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

30,399 t recycled, composted or reused 22,015 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

58.0%
2015/16: 58.2%2016/17: 59.7%2017/18: 58.4%2018/19: 57.7%2019/20: 58.8%2020/21: 58.9%2021/22: 59.3%2022/23: 56.4%2023/24: 57.9%2024/25: 58.0%
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 Guildford.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
65 Open schools
23,043 Pupils
25,316 School places
91.0% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Guildford.

Attainment 8
52.7
South East 47.0
England 46.1
6.6 points above England
English & maths grade 5+
58.5%
South East 47.9%
England 45.4%
13.1 percentage points above England
EBacc entry
47.5%
South East 41.6%
England 40.5%
7.0 percentage points above England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.39

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

51.0 18/19
54.4 19/20
55.3 20/21
54.9 21/22
53.6 22/23
54.1 23/24
52.7 24/25
Education context

Guildford's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are above 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 Guildford, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£495,000
+ 10.0% over five years
Median resident earnings
£46,801
+ 15.7% over five years
House price to earnings
10.58×
Improved from 11.13× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Guildford.

£1,728 / month
+ 5.4% in the last year
July 2026
Guildford
£1,728
+ 5.4%
South East
£1,419
+ 2.9%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South East £309 more per month
Compared with England £277 more per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Guildford
10.58×
South East
9.20×
England
7.64×
Compared with South East 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 received354this quarter+30 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided333this quarter+8 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
82.0%approved
Overall approval rate273 granted60 refused−0.2 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

84.4%
Rank 242 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

1.0 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major875.0%62.5% Minor6680.3%83.3% Other25982.6%85.3%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 3932024 Q3: 3612024 Q4: 3672025 Q1: 4022025 Q2: 3762025 Q3: 3042025 Q4: 3242026 Q1: 3542024 Q2: 3682024 Q3: 3242024 Q4: 2932025 Q1: 3012025 Q2: 3062025 Q3: 3842025 Q4: 3252026 Q1: 333
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

102%
Required1,856homes over three years
Delivered1,901homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 10,913 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 72.1 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change + 2.3% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Guildford Your council
72.1 + 2.3%
South East Region
70.5 − 2.7%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Guildford has a recorded crime rate 2.3% above South East. It is 13.6% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Surrey
Violence 4,208
27.8 per 1,000 + 2.7%
Theft 3,049
20.1 per 1,000 − 2.3%
Public order 1,236
8.2 per 1,000 + 6.7%
Criminal damage 1,023
6.8 per 1,000 + 4.3%
Shoplifting 1,139
7.5 per 1,000 − 5.1%
Vehicle offences 514
3.4 per 1,000 − 11.7%
Burglary 315
2.1 per 1,000 − 13.7%
Drug offences 392
2.6 per 1,000 + 2.6%
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 Guildford.

65 schools
Open schools 65
Pupils 23,043
School places 25,316
Capacity used 91.0%
Primary 36 schools
8,798 pupils
Other / specialist 20 schools
5,506 pupils
Secondary 7 schools
8,414 pupils
16+ provision 1 school
151 pupils
Nursery 1 school
174 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 1
1.5% of open schools
Previous full framework 24
36.9% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 23
35.4% of open schools
No Ofsted record 16
24.6% of open schools
No published outcome 1
1.5% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

1 schools assessed
Achievement 1 assessed
Strong standard 1
Attendance & behaviour 1 assessed
Strong standard 1
Curriculum & teaching 1 assessed
Expected standard 1
Inclusion 1 assessed
Strong standard 1
Leadership & governance 1 assessed
Strong standard 1
Personal development 1 assessed
Strong standard 1
Safeguarding 1 assessed
Met 1
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 12
Requires improvement 1
Inadequate 1
Not judged 8
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Ash Grange Nursery and Primary School URN 125116 · GU12 6LX Primary 305 312 Ungraded inspection
Boxgrove Primary School URN 140057 · GU1 2TD Primary 646 630 Not judged
Burpham Primary School URN 150036 · GU4 7LZ Primary 427 432 Ungraded inspection
Chilworth CofE (Aided) Infant School URN 125167 · GU4 8NP Primary 70 90 Not judged
Clandon CofE Aided Primary School URN 125199 · GU4 7ST Primary 77 105 Good
Guildford Grove Primary School URN 143373 · GU2 8YD Primary 339 390 Ungraded inspection
Holly Lodge Primary Academy URN 143809 · GU12 5PX Primary 418 436 Ungraded inspection
Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School URN 125288 · GU1 3QF Primary 368 384 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 151,359 2024
South East region 9,642,942
Guildford represents 1.57% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+9,031 residents ↑ 6.3%
2019: 142,328 residents2020: 142,732 residents2021: 144,013 residents2022: 146,232 residents2023: 149,094 residents2024: 151,359 residents
Guildford +6.3%
South East +4.9%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Guildford's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.5 percentage points above the South East and 2.1 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 Guildford?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 9,551 6.3% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +10.3% +889 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.9% +85 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Guildford LOCAL AUTHORITY
6.3%
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
9,551 8,606 7,661
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
£22.58m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£14.29m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£14.20m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£11.62m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £149
Median for councils of the same type £166 9.9% below peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Central services Gross £28.49m · Income £10.91m
£17.58m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £12.94m · Income £7.30m
£5.64m
Culture and related services Gross £8.22m · Income £4.38m
£3.83m
Other services Gross £4.24m · Income £1.37m
£2.87m
Housing Gross £3.60m · Income £1.06m
£2.54m
Adult social care Gross £1.51m · Income £934.0k
£572.0k
Children's social care Gross £1.66m · Income £1.46m
£208.0k
Planning and development Gross £5.18m · Income £9.71m
£-4.53m
Highways and transport Gross £6.38m · Income £12.51m
£-6.14m
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£14.20m
Revenue Support Grant£122.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £0.00
Closing £11.62m
£11.62m 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
£337.46m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£49.89m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£287.57m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£1,900 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £1,900
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 1,895.4% higher than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£4.67m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£4.67m −1.6%
Change across the series +£147.44m 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£289.96m
Other longer-term borrowing£10.00m
Short-term borrowing£37.50m
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
£14.71m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
97.50% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£707,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£147.02m 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
£14.71m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 60.2%
+ £5.53m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£9.18m 2021/22 £10.35m 2022/23 £11.69m 2023/24 £13.29m 2024/25 £14.71m 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.

£14.71m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £3.79m

25.7% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £10.92m

74.3% 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%  ·  1.89 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 — Guildfordmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Guildfordmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Guildfordmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Guildford Borough Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Guildfordmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Guildfordmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Guildfordmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Guildfordmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Guildfordmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Guildfordmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Guildfordmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Guildfordmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Guildfordmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Guildfordmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Guildfordmhclg 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.