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Overview

South East · Non-metropolitan district

Lewes

2026/27 view

Lewes · ONS E07000063

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

16/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 157 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover17
Debt burden23
Liquidity7
Debt direction14
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £88.87m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
+£7.44m 9.1%
Service expenditure £23.59m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£6.04m 34.4%
Unallocated reserves £2.21m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£881.0k 28.5%
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 £23.59m
60.1%
2020/21: £14.74m 2021/22: £16.84m 2022/23: £23.55m 2023/24: £17.55m 2024/25: £23.59m
Net revenue expenditure £25.46m
38.2%
2020/21: £18.42m 2021/22: £15.53m 2022/23: £20.60m 2023/24: £18.75m 2024/25: £25.46m
Council Tax requirement £14.06m
18.0%
2020/21: £11.91m 2021/22: £12.22m 2022/23: £12.63m 2023/24: £13.25m 2024/25: £14.06m
Unallocated reserves £2.21m
32.2%
2020/21: £3.25m 2021/22: £5.31m 2022/23: £5.20m 2023/24: £3.09m 2024/25: £2.21m
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 population102,3632024 estimate
Latest net debt£88.87m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
39.9%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

2.3 percentage points vs 2023/24
118 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste431.5 kgper household+19.6 kg year on year
Waste collected330.7 kgper resident+0.7 kg year on year
Household waste33,980tonnes collected13,545 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

13,545 t recycled, composted or reused 20,435 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

39.9%
2015/16: 21.5%2016/17: 25.1%2017/18: 26.7%2018/19: 39.7%2019/20: 39.6%2020/21: 39.8%2021/22: 41.0%2022/23: 40.4%2023/24: 42.2%2024/25: 39.9%
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 Lewes.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
38 Open schools
13,446 Pupils
14,524 School places
92.6% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Lewes.

Attainment 8
45.4
South East 47.0
England 46.1
0.7 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
45.4%
South East 47.9%
England 45.4%
In line with England
EBacc entry
56.6%
South East 41.6%
England 40.5%
16.1 percentage points above England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.33

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

46.6 18/19
50.5 19/20
50.4 20/21
50.3 21/22
46.2 22/23
47.7 23/24
45.4 24/25
Education context

Lewes's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with South East and England.

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

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025
Median house price
£384,500
+ 19.6% over five years
Median resident earnings
£40,807
+ 29.8% over five years
House price to earnings
9.42×
Improved from 10.22× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Lewes.

£1,325 / month
+ 6.1% in the last year
July 2026
Lewes
£1,325
+ 6.1%
South East
£1,419
+ 2.9%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South East £94 less per month
Compared with England £126 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Lewes
9.42×
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 received101this quarter+15 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided80this quarter−15 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
80.0%approved
Overall approval rate64 granted16 refused−9.5 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

73.8%
Rank 280 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

10.5 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major1100.0%100.0% Minor2161.9%66.7% Other5886.2%75.9%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 1192024 Q3: 942024 Q4: 1092025 Q1: 952025 Q2: 1072025 Q3: 1002025 Q4: 862026 Q1: 1012024 Q2: 1172024 Q3: 1032024 Q4: 1042025 Q1: 972025 Q2: 1012025 Q3: 1182025 Q4: 952026 Q1: 80
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

60%
Required2,341homes over three years
Delivered1,398homes over three years
100% requirement
Presumption in favourHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 5,649 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 55.2 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 4.3% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Lewes Your council
55.2 − 4.3%
South East Region
70.5 − 2.7%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Lewes has a recorded crime rate 21.7% below South East. It is 33.9% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Sussex
Violence 2,280
22.3 per 1,000 + 0.6%
Theft 1,385
13.5 per 1,000 − 17.1%
Public order 524
5.1 per 1,000 − 6.3%
Criminal damage 583
5.7 per 1,000 − 4.7%
Shoplifting 615
6.0 per 1,000 − 15.2%
Vehicle offences 149
1.5 per 1,000 − 37.4%
Burglary 195
1.9 per 1,000 − 10.6%
Drug offences 209
2.0 per 1,000 + 52.6%
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 Lewes.

38 schools
Open schools 38
Pupils 13,446
School places 14,524
Capacity used 92.6%
Primary 25 schools
6,718 pupils
Other / specialist 6 schools
1,002 pupils
Secondary 6 schools
5,726 pupils
16+ provision 1 school
0 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 5
13.2% of open schools
Previous full framework 15
39.5% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 14
36.8% of open schools
No Ofsted record 4
10.5% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

5 schools assessed
Achievement 5 assessed
Expected standard 5
Attendance & behaviour 5 assessed
Expected standard 4
Strong standard 1
Curriculum & teaching 5 assessed
Expected standard 5
Inclusion 5 assessed
Expected standard 3
Strong standard 2
Leadership & governance 5 assessed
Expected standard 4
Strong standard 1
Personal development 5 assessed
Expected standard 3
Strong standard 2
Safeguarding 5 assessed
Met 5
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.

Good 6
Not judged 9
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Annecy Catholic Primary School URN 146786 · BN25 4LF Primary 189 210 Good
Barcombe Church of England Primary School URN 114488 · BN8 5DN Primary 132 140 Not judged
Breakwater Academy URN 143120 · BN9 9UT Primary 144 210 Ungraded inspection
Chailey St Peter's Church of England Primary School URN 114495 · BN8 4DB Primary 104 140 Not judged
Chyngton School URN 149252 · BN25 3ST Primary 332 420 Renewed framework
Cradle Hill Community Primary School URN 114434 · BN25 3BA Primary 661 630 Ungraded inspection
Denton Community Primary School and Nursery URN 114433 · BN9 0QJ Primary 232 308 Ungraded inspection
Ditchling St Margaret's Church of England Primary School URN 148917 · BN6 8TU Primary 243 161 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 102,363 2024
South East region 9,642,942
Lewes represents 1.06% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+1,550 residents ↑ 1.5%
2019: 100,813 residents2020: 100,443 residents2021: 100,166 residents2022: 100,693 residents2023: 101,605 residents2024: 102,363 residents
Lewes +1.5%
South East +4.9%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Lewes's population grew over five years. Its change was 3.3 percentage points below the South East and 2.7 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 Lewes?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 10,494 10.3% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.3% +803 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.9% +94 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Lewes LOCAL AUTHORITY
10.3%
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
10,494 9,473 8,452
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
£23.59m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£25.46m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£14.06m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£2.21m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £230
Median for councils of the same type £166 39.2% above peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Central services Gross £14.22m · Income £2.42m
£11.80m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £8.79m · Income £2.51m
£6.28m
Planning and development Gross £4.48m · Income £2.32m
£2.16m
Culture and related services Gross £2.20m · Income £220.0k
£1.98m
Housing Gross £2.69m · Income £1.24m
£1.46m
Other services Gross £19.0k · Income £15.0k
£4.0k
Highways and transport Gross £673.0k · Income £773.0k
£-100.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£14.06m
Retained business rates£4.39m
Revenue Support Grant£135.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £3.09m
Closing £2.21m
£881.0k 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
£93.67m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£4.80m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£88.87m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£868 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £868
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 811.8% higher than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£7.44m quarterly increase
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement +£7.44m +9.1%
Change across the series +£51.01m 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£48.67m
Other longer-term borrowing£5.00m
Short-term borrowing£40.00m
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
£16.96m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
97.86% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£303,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£101.62m 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
£16.96m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 126.1%
+ £9.46m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£7.50m 2021/22 £8.60m 2022/23 £11.47m 2023/24 £14.15m 2024/25 £16.96m 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.

£16.96m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.94m

17.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £14.02m

82.6% 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 97.86%

England average: 95.60%  ·  2.26 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 — Lewesmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Lewesmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Lewesmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Lewes District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Lewesmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Lewesmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Lewesmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Lewesmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Lewesmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Lewesmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Lewesmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Lewesmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Lewesmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Lewesmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Lewesmhclg 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.