⌘ K
Overview

East Midlands · Non-metropolitan district

Harborough

2026/27 view

Harborough · ONS E07000131

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

87/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Strong

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 9 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover80
Debt burden89
Liquidity96
Debt direction90
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-48.72m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£12.25m 33.6%
Service expenditure £18.57m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£3.08m 19.9%
Unallocated reserves £9.08m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£6.80m 297.9%
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 £18.57m
18.2%
2020/21: £15.71m 2021/22: £12.67m 2022/23: £13.88m 2023/24: £15.49m 2024/25: £18.57m
Net revenue expenditure £17.57m
15.2%
2020/21: £15.25m 2021/22: £10.13m 2022/23: £12.74m 2023/24: £12.68m 2024/25: £17.57m
Council Tax requirement £9.46m
18.8%
2020/21: £7.97m 2021/22: £8.33m 2022/23: £8.77m 2023/24: £9.14m 2024/25: £9.46m
Unallocated reserves £9.08m
8.5%
2020/21: £8.37m 2021/22: £2.36m 2022/23: £2.41m 2023/24: £2.28m 2024/25: £9.08m
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 population104,7132024 estimate
Latest net debt£-48.72m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
43.4%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

2.0 percentage points vs 2023/24
79 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste452.5 kgper household−1.2 kg year on year
Waste collected341.2 kgper resident−16.6 kg year on year
Household waste35,899tonnes collected15,582 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

15,582 t recycled, composted or reused 20,317 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

43.4%
2015/16: 57.5%2016/17: 53.6%2017/18: 47.3%2018/19: 45.7%2019/20: 47.3%2020/21: 46.9%2021/22: 44.7%2022/23: 43.6%2023/24: 45.4%2024/25: 43.4%
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 Harborough.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
50 Open schools
15,634 Pupils
17,973 School places
87.0% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Harborough.

Attainment 8
50.2
East Midlands 45.0
England 46.1
4.1 points above England
English & maths grade 5+
55.2%
East Midlands 43.1%
England 45.4%
9.8 percentage points above England
EBacc entry
46.9%
East Midlands 36.9%
England 40.5%
6.4 percentage points above England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.13

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

51.4 18/19
54.4 19/20
53.9 20/21
54.4 21/22
48.6 22/23
49.5 23/24
50.2 24/25
Education context

Harborough's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are above both East Midlands 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 Harborough, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£332,000
+ 12.5% over five years
Median resident earnings
£42,423
+ 15.4% over five years
House price to earnings
7.83×
Improved from 8.03× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Harborough.

£963 / month
+ 2.9% in the last year
July 2026
Harborough
£963
+ 2.9%
East Midlands
£918
+ 3.6%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with East Midlands £45 more per month
Compared with England £488 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Harborough
7.83×
East Midlands
6.91×
England
7.64×
Compared with East Midlands 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 received251this quarter+37 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided172this quarter−38 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
88.4%approved
Overall approval rate152 granted20 refused+3.1 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

75.6%
Rank 278 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

4.6 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major333.3%100.0% Minor4381.4%81.4% Other12692.1%73.0%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 2202024 Q3: 2122024 Q4: 2092025 Q1: 2502025 Q2: 2372025 Q3: 2392025 Q4: 2142026 Q1: 2512024 Q2: 2182024 Q3: 1812024 Q4: 1632025 Q1: 1772025 Q2: 2322025 Q3: 2002025 Q4: 2102026 Q1: 172
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

139%
Required1,569homes over three years
Delivered2,177homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 4,648 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 44.4 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 5.6% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Harborough Your council
44.4 − 5.6%
East Midlands Region
76.6 − 1.1%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Harborough has a recorded crime rate 42.1% below East Midlands. It is 46.8% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Leicestershire
Violence 1,652
15.8 per 1,000 − 4.1%
Theft 1,493
14.3 per 1,000 − 16.7%
Public order 456
4.4 per 1,000 + 1.3%
Criminal damage 505
4.8 per 1,000 + 16.4%
Shoplifting 437
4.2 per 1,000 − 12.8%
Vehicle offences 286
2.7 per 1,000 − 34.3%
Burglary 290
2.8 per 1,000 − 25.6%
Drug offences 103
1.0 per 1,000 + 28.8%
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 Harborough.

50 schools
Open schools 50
Pupils 15,634
School places 17,973
Capacity used 87.0%
Primary 36 schools
7,438 pupils
Other / specialist 8 schools
1,669 pupils
Secondary 6 schools
6,527 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 6
12.0% of open schools
Previous full framework 18
36.0% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 17
34.0% of open schools
No Ofsted record 8
16.0% of open schools
No published outcome 1
2.0% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

6 schools assessed
Achievement 6 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 1
Attendance & behaviour 6 assessed
Expected standard 3
Strong standard 3
Curriculum & teaching 6 assessed
Expected standard 4
Needs attention 2
Inclusion 6 assessed
Expected standard 4
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Leadership & governance 6 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 1
Personal development 6 assessed
Expected standard 4
Strong standard 2
Safeguarding 6 assessed
Met 6
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 10
Requires improvement 2
Not judged 5
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Arnesby Church of England Primary School URN 146602 · LE8 5WG Primary 41 70 Requires improvement
Billesdon Church of England Primary School URN 120115 · LE7 9AG Primary 88 105 Not judged
Bringhurst Primary School URN 141279 · LE16 8RH Primary 157 182 Ungraded inspection
Church Langton Church of England Primary School URN 145203 · LE16 7SZ Primary 207 210 Renewed framework
Claybrooke Primary School URN 144115 · LE17 5AF Primary 64 105 Good
Dunton Bassett Primary School URN 144108 · LE17 5JL Primary 54 105 Good
Farndon Fields Primary School URN 138345 · LE16 9JH Primary 410 420 Ungraded inspection
Fernvale Primary School URN 143248 · LE7 9PR Primary 331 420 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 104,713 2024
East Midlands region 5,063,164
Harborough represents 2.07% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+11,052 residents ↑ 11.8%
2019: 93,661 residents2020: 95,288 residents2021: 98,254 residents2022: 100,666 residents2023: 102,910 residents2024: 104,713 residents
Harborough +11.8%
East Midlands +4.5%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Harborough's population grew over five years. Its change was 7.3 percentage points above the East Midlands and 7.5 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 Harborough?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 6,295 6.0% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +6.1% +364 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE -0.4% -25 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Harborough LOCAL AUTHORITY
6.0%
East Midlands REGION
11.8%
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
6,387 5,927 5,466
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
£18.57m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£17.57m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£9.46m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£9.08m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £177
Median for councils of the same type £166 7.2% above peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Central services Gross £12.27m · Income £3.85m
£8.42m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £7.93m · Income £2.88m
£5.06m
Planning and development Gross £4.20m · Income £2.08m
£2.12m
Housing Gross £3.44m · Income £1.40m
£2.05m
Culture and related services Gross £2.44m · Income £1.47m
£969.0k
Adult social care Gross £563.0k · Income £312.0k
£251.0k
Public health Gross £201.0k · Income £0.00
£201.0k
Highways and transport Gross £1.52m · Income £2.01m
£-490.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£9.46m
Retained business rates£14.92m
Revenue Support Grant£72.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £2.28m
Closing £9.08m
£6.80m 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
£1.47m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£50.19m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-48.72m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-465 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-465
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 588.6% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£12.25m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£12.25m −33.6%
Change across the series −£15.03m 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£1.47m
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
£6.36m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
97.79% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£38,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£92.43m 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
£6.36m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 79.3%
+ £2.81m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£3.55m 2021/22 £3.71m 2022/23 £4.51m 2023/24 £5.17m 2024/25 £6.36m 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.

£6.36m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.17m

34.1% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £4.19m

65.9% 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 97.79%

England average: 95.60%  ·  2.19 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 — Harboroughmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Harboroughmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Harboroughmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Harborough District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Harboroughmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Harboroughmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Harboroughmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Harboroughmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Harboroughmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Harboroughmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Harboroughmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Harboroughmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Harboroughmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Harboroughmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Harboroughmhclg 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.