⌘ K
Overview

North West · Non-metropolitan district

Lancaster

2026/27 view

Lancaster · ONS E07000121

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

69/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Good

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 40 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover74
Debt burden53
Liquidity65
Debt direction96
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £10.38m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£33.00m 76.1%
Service expenditure £27.92m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£1.72m 5.8%
Unallocated reserves £10.03m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£299.0k 2.9%
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 £27.92m
0.3%
2020/21: £28.01m 2021/22: £27.40m 2022/23: £25.63m 2023/24: £29.64m 2024/25: £27.92m
Net revenue expenditure £25.85m
4.5%
2020/21: £27.06m 2021/22: £21.34m 2022/23: £20.89m 2023/24: £26.23m 2024/25: £25.85m
Council Tax requirement £12.60m
21.6%
2020/21: £10.36m 2021/22: £10.65m 2022/23: £11.15m 2023/24: £12.62m 2024/25: £12.60m
Unallocated reserves £10.03m
28.4%
2020/21: £7.81m 2021/22: £6.03m 2022/23: £11.68m 2023/24: £10.33m 2024/25: £10.03m
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 population145,0062024 estimate
Latest net debt£10.38m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
35.9%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.7 percentage points vs 2023/24
141 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste463.5 kgper household−8.8 kg year on year
Waste collected333.8 kgper resident−6.9 kg year on year
Household waste48,451tonnes collected17,387 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

17,387 t recycled, composted or reused 31,065 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

35.9%
2015/16: 44.5%2016/17: 38.9%2017/18: 35.6%2018/19: 36.0%2019/20: 36.5%2020/21: 38.2%2021/22: 38.5%2022/23: 36.2%2023/24: 36.6%2024/25: 35.9%
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 Lancaster.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
73 Open schools
19,170 Pupils
22,389 School places
85.6% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Lancaster.

Attainment 8
44.9
North West 44.6
England 46.1
1.2 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
43.6%
North West 42.0%
England 45.4%
1.8 percentage points below England
EBacc entry
27.7%
North West 36.7%
England 40.5%
12.8 percentage points below England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.17

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

46.4 18/19
49.2 19/20
50.3 20/21
48.7 21/22
44.6 22/23
44.8 23/24
44.9 24/25
Education context

Lancaster's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with North West and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency
HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

House prices and affordability for Lancaster, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£200,000
+ 24.2% over five years
Median resident earnings
£34,890
+ 19.0% over five years
House price to earnings
5.73×
Higher from 5.49× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Lancaster.

£815 / month
+ 6.0% in the last year
July 2026
Lancaster
£815
+ 6.0%
North West
£965
+ 5.7%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with North West £150 less per month
Compared with England £636 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Lancaster
5.73×
North West
5.90×
England
7.64×
Compared with North West 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 received195this quarter+51 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided159this quarter+13 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
81.8%approved
Overall approval rate130 granted29 refused−2.5 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

96.2%
Rank 70 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

3.8 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major1030.0%80.0% Minor4780.9%93.6% Other10287.3%99.0%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 2062024 Q3: 2002024 Q4: 1892025 Q1: 2212025 Q2: 1922025 Q3: 1872025 Q4: 1442026 Q1: 1952024 Q2: 2312024 Q3: 1822024 Q4: 1952025 Q1: 1702025 Q2: 2192025 Q3: 1932025 Q4: 1462026 Q1: 159
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

48%
Required1,271homes over three years
Delivered612homes over three years
100% requirement
Presumption in favourHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 10,564 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 72.9 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 2.7% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Lancaster Your council
72.9 − 2.7%
North West Region
89.4 − 0.9%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Lancaster has a recorded crime rate 18.5% below North West. It is 12.7% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Lancashire
Violence 4,313
29.7 per 1,000 − 0.0%
Theft 2,884
19.9 per 1,000 − 12.0%
Public order 674
4.6 per 1,000 + 3.1%
Criminal damage 1,286
8.9 per 1,000 − 3.1%
Shoplifting 757
5.2 per 1,000 − 2.1%
Vehicle offences 448
3.1 per 1,000 − 22.0%
Burglary 684
4.7 per 1,000 − 18.5%
Drug offences 415
2.9 per 1,000 + 23.1%
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 Lancaster.

73 schools
Open schools 73
Pupils 19,170
School places 22,389
Capacity used 85.6%
Primary 52 schools
10,086 pupils
Other / specialist 11 schools
943 pupils
Secondary 8 schools
8,063 pupils
16+ provision 1 school
0 pupils
Nursery 1 school
78 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 12
16.4% of open schools
Previous full framework 33
45.2% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 21
28.8% of open schools
No Ofsted record 7
9.6% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

12 schools assessed
Achievement 12 assessed
Expected standard 6
Needs attention 4
Strong standard 1
Urgent improvement 1
Attendance & behaviour 12 assessed
Expected standard 7
Strong standard 3
Needs attention 2
Curriculum & teaching 12 assessed
Expected standard 5
Needs attention 4
Strong standard 2
Urgent improvement 1
Inclusion 12 assessed
Expected standard 6
Strong standard 4
Needs attention 1
Urgent improvement 1
Leadership & governance 12 assessed
Expected standard 8
Needs attention 2
Strong standard 1
Urgent improvement 1
Personal development 12 assessed
Expected standard 9
Strong standard 2
Needs attention 1
Safeguarding 12 assessed
Met 12
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 3
Good 20
Requires improvement 5
Not judged 5
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Arkholme Church of England Primary School URN 119523 · LA6 1AU Primary 102 112 Good
Bolton-le-Sands Church of England Primary School URN 119521 · LA5 8DT Primary 290 315 Good
Bowerham Primary & Nursery School URN 119129 · LA1 4BS Primary 498 532 Renewed framework
Carnforth Christ Church, Church of England, Voluntary Aided Primary School URN 119522 · LA5 9LJ Primary 113 150 Renewed framework
Carnforth Community Primary School URN 119126 · LA5 9LQ Primary 99 121 Good
Castle View Primary Academy URN 148231 · LA1 3LE Primary 100 210 Not judged
Caton Primary School URN 119322 · LA2 9NH Primary 81 85 Ungraded inspection
Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School URN 119524 · LA2 9PJ Primary 171 175 Renewed framework
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 145,006 2024
North West region 7,737,414
Lancaster represents 1.87% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+5,211 residents ↑ 3.7%
2019: 139,795 residents2020: 140,881 residents2021: 142,351 residents2022: 144,366 residents2023: 145,056 residents2024: 145,006 residents
Lancaster +3.7%
North West +5.1%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Lancaster's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.4 percentage points below the North West and 0.5 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 Lancaster?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 16,479 11.4% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +6.1% +953 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.9% +151 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Lancaster LOCAL AUTHORITY
11.4%
North West REGION
14.0%
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
16,554 15,494 14,433
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
£27.92m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£25.85m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£12.60m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£10.03m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £193
Median for councils of the same type £166 16.3% 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 £12.58m · Income £4.63m
£7.94m
Central services Gross £42.12m · Income £34.98m
£7.13m
Planning and development Gross £7.48m · Income £1.42m
£6.06m
Culture and related services Gross £10.36m · Income £5.51m
£4.85m
Housing Gross £7.83m · Income £3.56m
£4.27m
Children's social care Gross £460.0k · Income £441.0k
£19.0k
Highways and transport Gross £1.75m · Income £4.10m
£-2.35m
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£12.60m
Retained business rates£14.34m
Revenue Support Grant£433.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £10.33m
Closing £10.03m
£299.0k decrease 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
£55.88m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£45.50m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£10.38m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£72 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £72
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 24.8% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£33.00m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£33.00m −76.1%
Change across the series −£14.05m 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£55.88m
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
£22.56m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
93.93% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£1.35m Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£99.99m 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
£22.56m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 35.7%
+ £5.94m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£16.62m 2021/22 £17.89m 2022/23 £19.47m 2023/24 £21.30m 2024/25 £22.56m 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.

£22.56m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £6.51m

28.9% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £16.05m

71.1% 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 93.93%

England average: 95.60%  ·  1.67 percentage points below 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 — Lancastermhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Lancastermhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Lancastermhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Lancaster City Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Lancastermhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Lancastermhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Lancastermhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Lancastermhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Lancastermhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Lancastermhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Lancastermhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Lancastermhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Lancastermhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Lancastermhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Lancastermhclg 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.