East of England · Non-metropolitan district

King's Lynn and West Norfolk

2026/27 view

King's Lynn and West Norfolk · ONS E07000146

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

43/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 104 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover71

Debt burden42

Liquidity20

Debt direction9

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

Net debt £36.69m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

+£5.22m 16.6%

Service expenditure £23.11m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£5.68m 19.7%

Unallocated reserves £9.63m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£1.04m 12.1%

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 £23.11m

28.0%

Net revenue expenditure £26.17m

41.7%

Council Tax requirement £12.24m

20.1%

Unallocated reserves £9.63m

24.8%

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 population156,2062024 estimate

Latest net debt£36.69m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for King's Lynn and West Norfolk, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25

42.1%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.3 percentage points vs 2023/24

98 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste450.1 kgper household−6.6 kg year on year

Waste collected378.0 kgper resident−6.7 kg year on year

Household waste59,063tonnes collected24,839 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

24,839 t recycled, composted or reused 34,224 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

42.1%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

83 Open schools

19,176 Pupils

21,720 School places

88.3% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Attainment 8

42.9

East of England 46.2

England 46.1

3.2 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

39.6%

East of England 45.9%

England 45.4%

5.8 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

54.5%

East of England 40.0%

England 40.5%

14.0 percentage points above England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.29

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

41.3 18/19

47.4 19/20

47.1 20/21

43.7 21/22

41.3 22/23

41.1 23/24

42.9 24/25

Education context

King's Lynn and West Norfolk'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 King's Lynn and West Norfolk, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£270,000

+ 19.6% over five years

Median resident earnings

£36,835

+ 18.4% over five years

House price to earnings

7.33×

Higher from 7.25× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

£940 / month

+ 4.2% in the last year

July 2026

King's Lynn and West Norfolk

£940

+ 4.2%

East of England

£1,285

+ 3.7%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East of England £345 less per month

Compared with England £511 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

King's Lynn and West Norfolk

7.33×

East of England

8.52×

England

7.64×

Compared with East of England 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 received348this quarter+47 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided308this quarter+19 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

89.6%approved

Overall approval rate276 granted32 refused+0.7 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

92.2%

Rank 153 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

3.0 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major15100.0%100.0% Minor11880.5%89.0% Other17594.9%93.7%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

100%

Required1,692homes over three years

Delivered1,684homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for King's Lynn and West Norfolk, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 8,955 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 57.3 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change − 4.5% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

King's Lynn and West Norfolk Your council

57.3 − 4.5%

East of England Region

68.4 − 0.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

King's Lynn and West Norfolk has a recorded crime rate 16.2% below East of England. It is 31.3% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Norfolk

Violence 3,937

25.2 per 1,000 + 1.0%

Theft 2,105

13.5 per 1,000 − 9.3%

Public order 729

4.7 per 1,000 − 4.7%

Criminal damage 913

5.8 per 1,000 − 6.3%

Shoplifting 804

5.1 per 1,000 − 13.7%

Vehicle offences 201

1.3 per 1,000 − 29.5%

Burglary 287

1.8 per 1,000 − 12.0%

Drug offences 368

2.4 per 1,000 − 25.7%

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 King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

83 schools

Open schools 83

Pupils 19,176

School places 21,720

Capacity used 88.3%

Primary 65 schools

10,294 pupils

Secondary 8 schools

8,120 pupils

Other / specialist 7 schools

593 pupils

Nursery 2 schools

169 pupils

16+ provision 1 school

0 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 10

12.0% of open schools

Previous full framework 41

49.4% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 25

30.1% of open schools

No Ofsted record 7

8.4% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

10 schools assessed

Achievement 10 assessed

Needs attention 6

Expected standard 4

Attendance & behaviour 10 assessed

Expected standard 9

Strong standard 1

Curriculum & teaching 10 assessed

Expected standard 8

Needs attention 2

Inclusion 10 assessed

Expected standard 9

Strong standard 1

Leadership & governance 10 assessed

Expected standard 7

Needs attention 2

Strong standard 1

Personal development 10 assessed

Expected standard 9

Strong standard 1

Safeguarding 10 assessed

Met 10

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 23

Requires improvement 3

Inadequate 1

Not judged 13

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
All Saints Academy URN 141464 · PE33 9QJ	Primary	97	105	Good
Anthony Curton CofE Primary School URN 141758 · PE14 7NG	Primary	191	210	Good
Ashwicken Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School URN 121135 · PE32 1LY	Primary	104	105	Renewed framework
Beaupre Community Primary School URN 110643 · PE14 8RH	Primary	145	210	Renewed framework
Burnham Market Primary and Nursery School URN 144825 · PE31 8JA	Primary	111	125	Good
Castle Acre Church of England Primary Academy URN 142467 · PE32 2AR	Primary	86	77	Ungraded inspection
Cherry Tree Academy Trust Marham Infant URN 141161 · PE33 9LT	Primary	136	240	Not judged
Cherry Tree Academy Trust Marham Junior URN 141227 · PE33 9JJ	Primary	215	240	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 156,206 2024

East of England region 6,576,306

Five-year population change

+2,874 residents ↑ 1.9%

King's Lynn and West Norfolk +1.9%

East of England +4.8%

England +4.3%

Growth context

King's Lynn and West Norfolk's population grew over five years. Its change was 2.9 percentage points below the East of England and 2.4 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 King's Lynn and West Norfolk?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 16,885 10.8% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +9.1% +1,410 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.8% +134 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

King's Lynn and West Norfolk LOCAL AUTHORITY

10.8%

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

16,885 15,202 13,519

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

£23.11m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£26.17m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£12.24m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£9.63m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £148

Median for councils of the same type £166 10.6% below peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Central services Gross £15.38m · Income £2.61m

£12.77m

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £14.83m · Income £8.99m

£5.84m

Culture and related services Gross £8.11m · Income £4.18m

£3.93m

Housing Gross £6.38m · Income £3.71m

£2.68m

Planning and development Gross £6.54m · Income £5.38m

£1.16m

Highways and transport Gross £8.07m · Income £11.33m

£-3.27m

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£12.24m

Retained business rates£14.99m

Revenue Support Grant£1.02m

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £8.60m

Closing £9.63m

£1.03m 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

£42.00m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£5.32m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£36.69m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£235 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £235

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 146.6% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£5.22m quarterly increase

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

Latest quarterly movement +£5.22m +16.6%

Change across the series +£42.05m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1

What changed?

Net debt increased during the quarter, with higher outstanding borrowing contributing to the movement.

BORROWING COMPOSITION

Where the borrowing sits

PWLB, other longer-term borrowing and short-term borrowing.

2026/27 Q1

Public Works Loan Board£28.00m

Short-term borrowing£14.00m

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

£10.47m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

97.08% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£669,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£129.46m 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

£10.47m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 71.0%

+ £4.35m

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.

£10.47m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £4.32m

41.2% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £6.16m

58.8% 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 97.08%

England average: 95.60% · 1.48 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 — King's Lynn and West Norfolk	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — King’s Lynn and West Norfolk	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — King’s Lynn and West Norfolk	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — King's Lynn & West Norfolk	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.