⌘ K
Overview

West Midlands · Non-metropolitan district

Lichfield

2026/27 view

Lichfield · ONS E07000194

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

70/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Good

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 38 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover68
Debt burden82
Liquidity97
Debt direction15
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-38.43m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
+£3.78m 9.0%
Service expenditure £13.37m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£1.03m 7.1%
Unallocated reserves £5.75m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£53.0k 0.9%
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 £13.37m
12.7%
2020/21: £11.87m 2021/22: £11.46m 2022/23: £14.36m 2023/24: £14.40m 2024/25: £13.37m
Net revenue expenditure £16.50m
29.0%
2020/21: £12.79m 2021/22: £12.15m 2022/23: £13.75m 2023/24: £12.14m 2024/25: £16.50m
Council Tax requirement £10.29m
14.0%
2020/21: £9.03m 2021/22: £9.24m 2022/23: £9.58m 2023/24: £9.80m 2024/25: £10.29m
Unallocated reserves £5.75m
14.4%
2020/21: £6.71m 2021/22: £6.85m 2022/23: £5.99m 2023/24: £5.80m 2024/25: £5.75m
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 population111,9322024 estimate
Latest net debt£-38.43m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
43.3%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

1.8 percentage points vs 2023/24
80 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste461.0 kgper household+5.9 kg year on year
Waste collected358.4 kgper resident−9.6 kg year on year
Household waste40,122tonnes collected17,379 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

17,379 t recycled, composted or reused 22,743 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

43.3%
2015/16: 50.7%2016/17: 52.3%2017/18: 50.4%2018/19: 45.0%2019/20: 48.4%2020/21: 45.9%2021/22: 45.2%2022/23: 44.3%2023/24: 45.1%2024/25: 43.3%
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 Lichfield.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
60 Open schools
17,352 Pupils
20,138 School places
86.2% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Lichfield.

Attainment 8
48.4
West Midlands 44.6
England 46.1
2.3 points above England
English & maths grade 5+
48.6%
West Midlands 41.7%
England 45.4%
3.2 percentage points above England
EBacc entry
41.0%
West Midlands 37.9%
England 40.5%
0.5 percentage points above England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.07

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

50.0 18/19
53.8 19/20
54.7 20/21
53.7 21/22
48.5 22/23
48.6 23/24
48.4 24/25
Education context

Lichfield's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are above both West 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 Lichfield, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£320,000
+ 25.5% over five years
Median resident earnings
£41,803
+ 14.9% over five years
House price to earnings
7.65×
Higher from 7.01× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Lichfield.

£1,100 / month
+ 8.0% in the last year
July 2026
Lichfield
£1,100
+ 8.0%
West Midlands
£974
+ 4.5%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with West Midlands £126 more per month
Compared with England £351 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Lichfield
7.65×
West Midlands
6.80×
England
7.64×
Compared with West 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 received182this quarter−6 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided155this quarter−21 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
82.6%approved
Overall approval rate128 granted27 refused−4.4 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

96.1%
Rank 74 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.5 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major683.3%83.3% Minor4577.8%97.8% Other10484.6%96.2%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 1662024 Q3: 1652024 Q4: 1452025 Q1: 1852025 Q2: 1962025 Q3: 1602025 Q4: 1882026 Q1: 1822024 Q2: 1772024 Q3: 1722024 Q4: 1642025 Q1: 1572025 Q2: 2062025 Q3: 1792025 Q4: 1762026 Q1: 155
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

232%
Required937homes over three years
Delivered2,178homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 6,201 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 55.4 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change + 3.1% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Lichfield Your council
55.4 + 3.1%
West Midlands Region
82.2 − 1.2%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Lichfield has a recorded crime rate 32.6% below West Midlands. It is 33.6% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Staffordshire
Violence 2,503
22.4 per 1,000 − 0.8%
Theft 1,891
16.9 per 1,000 + 2.5%
Public order 582
5.2 per 1,000 + 6.2%
Criminal damage 432
3.9 per 1,000 − 6.3%
Shoplifting 450
4.0 per 1,000 − 11.2%
Vehicle offences 699
6.2 per 1,000 + 18.7%
Burglary 284
2.5 per 1,000 + 5.2%
Drug offences 169
1.5 per 1,000 + 33.1%
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 Lichfield.

60 schools
Open schools 60
Pupils 17,352
School places 20,138
Capacity used 86.2%
Primary 42 schools
8,723 pupils
Other / specialist 11 schools
1,716 pupils
Secondary 6 schools
6,766 pupils
All-through 1 school
147 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 11
18.3% of open schools
Previous full framework 22
36.7% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 18
30.0% of open schools
No Ofsted record 6
10.0% of open schools
No published outcome 3
5.0% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

11 schools assessed
Achievement 11 assessed
Expected standard 5
Strong standard 4
Needs attention 2
Attendance & behaviour 11 assessed
Strong standard 5
Expected standard 4
Needs attention 2
Curriculum & teaching 11 assessed
Expected standard 4
Needs attention 4
Strong standard 3
Inclusion 11 assessed
Strong standard 6
Needs attention 3
Expected standard 2
Leadership & governance 11 assessed
Expected standard 6
Strong standard 4
Needs attention 1
Personal development 11 assessed
Strong standard 8
Expected standard 2
Needs attention 1
Safeguarding 11 assessed
Met 11
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 7
Requires improvement 1
Not judged 11
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
All Saints Church of England Primary and Nursery School URN 149689 · DE13 7EF Primary 210 296 Requires improvement
Anna Seward Primary URN 149841 · WS14 0AL Primary 122 236 No published outcome
Boney Hay Primary Academy URN 143900 · WS7 2PF Primary 220 210 Ungraded inspection
Chadsmead Primary Academy URN 144498 · WS13 7HJ Primary 188 420 Not judged
Charnwood Primary Academy URN 145680 · WS13 7PH Primary 210 210 Ungraded inspection
Chase Terrace Primary School URN 124207 · WS7 1AH Primary 221 315 Ungraded inspection
Christ Church CofE (C) Primary School URN 124257 · WS13 8AY Primary 420 420 Good
Five Spires Academy URN 141203 · WS14 9AN Primary 220 234 Good
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 111,932 2024
West Midlands region 6,187,204
Lichfield represents 1.81% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+7,753 residents ↑ 7.4%
2019: 104,179 residents2020: 105,008 residents2021: 106,883 residents2022: 108,305 residents2023: 110,192 residents2024: 111,932 residents
Lichfield +7.4%
West Midlands +4.5%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Lichfield's population grew over five years. Its change was 2.9 percentage points above the West Midlands and 3.2 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 Lichfield?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 9,159 8.2% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +7.9% +674 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +1.2% +106 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Lichfield LOCAL AUTHORITY
8.2%
West Midlands REGION
13.9%
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
9,159 8,345 7,531
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
£13.37m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£16.50m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£10.29m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£5.75m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £119
Median for councils of the same type £166 27.8% below peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £12.11m · Income £7.63m
£4.48m
Central services Gross £15.84m · Income £11.39m
£4.45m
Housing Gross £3.61m · Income £1.65m
£1.96m
Culture and related services Gross £6.38m · Income £4.55m
£1.83m
Planning and development Gross £7.76m · Income £6.00m
£1.76m
Highways and transport Gross £1.18m · Income £2.28m
£-1.10m
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£10.29m
Retained business rates£5.79m
Revenue Support Grant£113.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £5.80m
Closing £5.75m
£53.0k 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
£852.0k 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£39.28m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-38.43m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-343 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-343
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 460.6% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£3.78m quarterly increase
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement +£3.78m +9.0%
Change across the series −£5.44m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1
What changed?

Net debt increased despite borrowing not rising because investments and cash fell during the quarter.

BORROWING COMPOSITION

Where the borrowing sits

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

2026/27 Q1
Public Works Loan Board£852.0k
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
£6.17m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
98.10% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£188,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£93.55m 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
£6.17m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 68.5%
+ £2.51m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£3.66m 2021/22 £4.31m 2022/23 £4.63m 2023/24 £5.36m 2024/25 £6.17m 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.

£6.17m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.27m

36.8% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £3.90m

63.2% 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 98.10%

England average: 95.60%  ·  2.50 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 — Lichfieldmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Lichfieldmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Lichfieldmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Lichfield District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Lichfieldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Lichfieldmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Lichfieldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Lichfieldmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Lichfieldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Lichfieldmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Lichfieldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Lichfieldmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Lichfieldmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Lichfieldmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Lichfieldmhclg 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.