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Overview

North West · County council

Lancashire County Council

2026/27 view

Lancashire County Council · ONS E10000017

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

49/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

Compared only with county council councils using central government returns.

21 councils in peer group Rank 11 of 21 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover60
Liquidity60
Debt direction10
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £405.68m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
+£43.21m 11.9%
Service expenditure £2,476.16m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£226.73m 10.1%
Unallocated reserves £56.00m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£32.56m 138.9%
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 £2,476.16m
29.6%
2020/21: £1,909.96m 2021/22: £1,983.09m 2022/23: £2,157.05m 2023/24: £2,249.43m 2024/25: £2,476.16m
Net revenue expenditure £985.93m
45.7%
2020/21: £676.45m 2021/22: £733.05m 2022/23: £869.91m 2023/24: £916.42m 2024/25: £985.93m
Council Tax requirement £642.21m
23.6%
2020/21: £519.65m 2021/22: £540.16m 2022/23: £571.19m 2023/24: £604.42m 2024/25: £642.21m
Unallocated reserves £56.00m
138.9%
2020/21: £23.44m 2021/22: £23.44m 2022/23: £23.44m 2023/24: £23.44m 2024/25: £56.00m
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 populationAwaiting dataNo population series imported
Latest net debt£405.68m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
ROADS & HIGHWAYS

How well are the roads being maintained?

Official DfT condition data, showing the share of each road class requiring maintenance investigation.

2024/25
Unclassified roads24.0%requiring maintenance investigation−2.0 pts vs 2023/24
Rank 104 / 130peer median 15.0%
A roads & motorways3.0%requiring maintenance investigation+1.0 pts vs 2023/24
Rank 38 / 149peer median 4.0%
B & C roads5.0%requiring maintenance investigation−0.0 pts vs 2023/24
Rank 55 / 133peer median 5.0%
A roads & motorways3.0% red
Good 75.0%Amber 22.0%Red 3.0%
B & C roads5.0% red
Good 67.0%Amber 28.0%Red 5.0%
ROAD CONDITION TREND

Red condition over time

Lower is better
2015/16: 3.0%2016/17: 3.0%2017/18: 2.0%2018/19: 2.0%2019/20: 2.0%2020/21: 1.0%2021/22: 2.0%2022/23: 2.0%2023/24: 2.0%2024/25: 3.0%2015/16: 5.0%2016/17: 4.0%2017/18: 5.0%2018/19: 4.0%2019/20: 5.0%2020/21: 4.0%2021/22: 4.0%2022/23: 5.0%2023/24: 5.0%2024/25: 5.0%2015/16: 11.0%2016/17: 38.0%2023/24: 26.0%2024/25: 24.0%
2015/162024/25
A roadsB & C roadsUnclassified
2024/25 MAINTENANCE ACTIVITY

Network treated during the year

A roads3.9%689 km network
B, C & unclassified1.3%6,250 km network
Strengthening0.0%Resurfacing0.2%Preservation3.7%
Official DfT road condition statistics · Lower red percentages indicate fewer roads requiring investigation.View source
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for Lancashire County Council, with like-for-like comparison against disposal authorities.

2024/25
41.8%recycled
Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

0.4 percentage points vs 2023/24
16 of 21 peer authorities Peer median 44.8%
Residual waste550.7 kgper household−2.8 kg year on year
Waste collected422.1 kgper resident−4.8 kg year on year
Household waste547,476tonnes collected228,676 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

228,676 t recycled, composted or reused 318,800 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

41.8%
2015/16: 51.6%2016/17: 45.6%2017/18: 42.1%2018/19: 44.6%2019/20: 45.7%2020/21: 44.6%2021/22: 41.2%2022/23: 42.8%2023/24: 41.4%2024/25: 41.8%
2015/162024/25
Official Defra waste statistics · Annual local-authority return · Figures may not sum exactly because of published rounding.View source
Published expenditure£0.00No spending file imported
Revenue budget£0.00Not imported
Reported overspend£0.00Not imported outturn
Contracts00 active
Identified suppliers0Normalised entities
PUBLIC HEALTH

How healthy are people in Lancashire County Council?

Life expectancy, early mortality, lifestyle and prevention measures from the Public Health Outcomes Framework.

OHID · latest available
LIFE EXPECTANCY

How does Lancashire County Council compare with England?

Latest published life expectancy at birth, shown against the matching England figure.

2025
Male 79.0 years
1.0 years lower than England
England 80.0
Female 83.0 years
0.8 years lower than England
England 83.8
HEALTHY LIFE EXPECTANCY

Years expected in good health

Healthy life expectancy is considerably different from total life expectancy: it estimates how many years are expected to be lived in good health.

Male
59.3
1.6 year s below England
England 60.9
Female
60.3
1.0 year below England
England 61.3
2022 - 24
EARLY MORTALITY

Deaths and premature mortality

Age-standardised mortality rates and the latest published suicide rate.

Preventable mortality 2024
169.1 per 100,000
England 145.8
Worse
Cardiovascular disease 2025
78.9 per 100,000
England 71.5
Worse
Cancer 2025
116.0 per 100,000
England 114.6
Similar
Liver disease 2025
24.1 per 100,000
England 19.4
Worse
Respiratory disease 2025
43.7 per 100,000
England 31.5
Worse
Suicide rate 2022 - 24
14.3 per 100,000
England 10.9
Worse
HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

Behaviours and health risks

Smoking, excess weight, physical activity and alcohol-related harm.

Adult smoking 2024
Lancashire County Council 9.5% England 10.4%
Similar
Adults overweight or obese 2024/25
Lancashire County Council 68.6% England 68.0%
Worse
Physically active adults 2024/25
Lancashire County Council 66.9% England 64.6%
Similar
Alcohol-related admissions 2023/24
Lancashire County Council 482.7 England 504.1
Rate per 100,000 Better
CHILDREN & PREVENTION

Prevention and healthy development

Child health, physical activity, vaccination and screening coverage.

Reception overweight or obese 2024/25
25.7%
Lancashire County Council 25.7% England 23.5%
Council compared with England Worse
Year 6 overweight or obese 2024/25
36.6%
Lancashire County Council 36.6% England 36.2%
Council compared with England Similar
Physically active children 2024/25
50.7%
Lancashire County Council 50.7% England 49.1%
Council compared with England Similar
MMR two-dose coverage 2024/25
86.6%
Lancashire County Council 86.6% England 83.7%
Council compared with England Better
Bowel cancer screening 2025
74.0%
Lancashire County Council 74.0% England 72.9%
Council compared with England Better
WIDER HEALTH

Other measures affecting population health

Selected wider indicators that help describe health and wellbeing across the area.

Dementia diagnosis rate 2026
69.7 per 100
England 66.3 per 100 Similar
Air pollution mortality 2024
4.4%
England 5.3% Not compared
Latest available measures can cover different reporting periods. England comparison is the classification published with the OHID measure. Public Health Outcomes Framework
AIR QUALITY

How clean is the air?

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

Defra 2,024
POPULATION-WEIGHTED ANNUAL MEAN

Fine particulate matter

5.9 µg/m³

PM2.5 · 2,024

Human-related sources 5.4 µg/m³
Other sources 0.4 µg/m³
Modelled population-weighted annual concentration across the local authority area. This is not a live sensor reading.
LONG-TERM TREND

PM2.5 over time

40.2%
9.8 5.9
2011: 9.83 µg/m³ 2012: 9.05 µg/m³ 2013: 9.54 µg/m³ 2014: 9.30 µg/m³ 2015: 8.20 µg/m³ 2016: 7.85 µg/m³ 2017: 7.00 µg/m³ 2018: 7.38 µg/m³ 2019: 7.34 µg/m³ 2020: 6.06 µg/m³ 2021: 6.35 µg/m³ 2022: 6.81 µg/m³ 2023: 6.13 µg/m³ 2024: 5.88 µg/m³
2011 2024
Since 2011 ↓ 40.2%
5 years ↓ 19.9%
10 years ↓ 36.8%
CURRENT MONITORING

Latest station measurement

UK-AIR
No active UK-AIR monitoring station is currently mapped to this council.
HEALTH IMPACT

Particulate air pollution

4.4% of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution
2024 Not compared

This OHID measure estimates the mortality burden associated with particulate air pollution. It is a health-impact measure, not a pollution concentration.

Annual PM2.5 is Defra Pollution Climate Mapping data. Monitoring readings are station-specific UK-AIR measurements and may be provisional. Defra source
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
£2,476.16m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£985.93m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£642.21m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£56.00m 2024/25 actual outturn
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Education Gross £1,344.61m · Income £78.03m
£1,266.58m
Adult social care Gross £829.29m · Income £244.78m
£584.50m
Children's social care Gross £298.21m · Income £6.73m
£291.48m
Public health Gross £99.20m · Income £1.56m
£97.64m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £113.64m · Income £19.29m
£94.35m
Highways and transport Gross £129.33m · Income £60.86m
£68.47m
Central services Gross £166.90m · Income £125.02m
£41.88m
Culture and related services Gross £27.73m · Income £4.08m
£23.65m
Planning and development Gross £18.42m · Income £10.83m
£7.60m
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£642.21m
Retained business rates£254.93m
Revenue Support Grant£40.74m
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £23.44m
Closing £56.00m
£32.57m 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
£965.81m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£560.13m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£405.68m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£43.21m quarterly increase
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement +£43.21m +11.9%
Change across the series −£67.12m 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£159.60m
Other longer-term borrowing£216.89m
Short-term borrowing£589.32m
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.

Council tax collection figures are not available for this authority. Some councils, including county councils, do not collect council tax directly. Collection is administered by the relevant billing authorities.

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

37 imported
DocumentDatasetPeriodStatusOfficial source
DfT road condition statistics — Lancashiredft local road condition2007/08–2024/25importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Lancashire County Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Lancashire CCmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Lancashire CCmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Lancashiremhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Lancashiremhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Lancashiremhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Lancashiremhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Lancashire CCmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Lancashire CCmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Lancashiremhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Lancashire CCmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Lancashire CCmhclg 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.