⌘ K
Overview

South East · Unitary authority

Medway

2026/27 view

Medway · ONS E06000035

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

14/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

Compared only with unitary authority councils using central government returns.

63 councils in peer group Rank 61 of 63 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover13
Debt burden13
Liquidity6
Debt direction31
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £704.97m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£4.50m 0.6%
Service expenditure £460.88m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£51.02m 12.4%
Unallocated reserves £10.06m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
£0.00 0.0%
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 £460.88m
33.5%
2020/21: £345.13m 2021/22: £355.35m 2022/23: £386.32m 2023/24: £409.86m 2024/25: £460.88m
Net revenue expenditure £239.93m
28.0%
2020/21: £187.41m 2021/22: £205.44m 2022/23: £219.34m 2023/24: £230.24m 2024/25: £239.93m
Council Tax requirement £160.22m
24.9%
2020/21: £128.27m 2021/22: £135.10m 2022/23: £140.70m 2023/24: £149.92m 2024/25: £160.22m
Unallocated reserves £10.06m
55.7%
2020/21: £22.69m 2021/22: £26.55m 2022/23: £10.16m 2023/24: £10.06m 2024/25: £10.06m
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 population292,6552024 estimate
Latest net debt£704.97m2026/27 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 roads31.0%requiring maintenance investigation+9.0 pts vs 2023/24
Rank 123 / 130peer median 15.0%
A roads & motorways2.0%requiring maintenance investigation−0.0 pts vs 2023/24
Rank 15 / 149peer median 4.0%
B & C roads6.0%requiring maintenance investigation−0.0 pts vs 2023/24
Rank 68 / 133peer median 5.0%
A roads & motorways2.0% red
Good 83.0%Amber 15.0%Red 2.0%
B & C roads6.0% red
Good 70.0%Amber 24.0%Red 6.0%
ROAD CONDITION TREND

Red condition over time

Lower is better
2015/16: 2.0%2016/17: 2.0%2017/18: 2.0%2018/19: 2.0%2019/20: 1.0%2020/21: 2.0%2021/22: 2.0%2022/23: 5.0%2023/24: 2.0%2024/25: 2.0%2015/16: 5.0%2016/17: 5.0%2017/18: 4.0%2018/19: 4.0%2019/20: 6.0%2020/21: 5.0%2021/22: 5.0%2022/23: 8.0%2023/24: 6.0%2024/25: 6.0%2015/16: 18.0%2016/17: 14.0%2017/18: 20.0%2018/19: 23.0%2019/20: 21.0%2020/21: 20.0%2021/22: 19.0%2023/24: 22.0%2024/25: 31.0%
2015/162024/25
A roadsB & C roadsUnclassified
2024/25 MAINTENANCE ACTIVITY

Network treated during the year

A roads4.6%69 km network
B, C & unclassified0.5%787 km network
Strengthening0.2%Resurfacing3.6%Preservation0.9%
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 Medway, with like-for-like comparison against unitary authorities.

2024/25
37.2%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.4 percentage points vs 2023/24
55 of 96 peer authorities Peer median 39.0%
Residual waste588.5 kgper household−0.9 kg year on year
Waste collected388.9 kgper resident−7.6 kg year on year
Household waste113,978tonnes collected42,415 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

42,415 t recycled, composted or reused 71,562 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

37.2%
2015/16: 42.7%2016/17: 42.8%2017/18: 42.8%2018/19: 42.8%2019/20: 46.0%2020/21: 41.8%2021/22: 40.5%2022/23: 36.6%2023/24: 37.6%2024/25: 37.2%
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 Medway.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
117 Open schools
50,953 Pupils
54,530 School places
93.4% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Medway.

Attainment 8
45.0
South East 47.0
England 46.1
1.1 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
42.1%
South East 47.9%
England 45.4%
3.3 percentage points below England
EBacc entry
49.7%
South East 41.6%
England 40.5%
9.2 percentage points above England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.09

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

45.9 18/19
49.2 19/20
48.4 20/21
46.7 21/22
44.3 22/23
44.6 23/24
45.0 24/25
Education context

Medway'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 Medway, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£310,000
+ 21.6% over five years
Median resident earnings
£39,622
+ 19.1% over five years
House price to earnings
7.82×
Higher from 7.67× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Medway.

£1,236 / month
+ 2.5% in the last year
July 2026
Medway
£1,236
+ 2.5%
South East
£1,419
+ 2.9%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South East £183 less per month
Compared with England £215 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Medway
7.82×
South East
9.20×
England
7.64×
Compared with South East More 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 received265this quarter+18 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided188this quarter−58 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
91.0%approved
Overall approval rate171 granted17 refused+0.7 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

98.9%
Rank 25 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

3.8 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major3100.0%100.0% Minor6080.0%96.7% Other12596.0%100.0%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 2652024 Q3: 2562024 Q4: 2482025 Q1: 3252025 Q2: 2682025 Q3: 2382025 Q4: 2472026 Q1: 2652024 Q2: 2662024 Q3: 2562024 Q4: 2462025 Q1: 2142025 Q2: 3202025 Q3: 2452025 Q4: 2462026 Q1: 188
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

60%
Required5,000homes over three years
Delivered3,017homes over three years
100% requirement
Presumption in favourHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 107 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 0.4 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 98.4% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Medway Your council
0.4 − 98.4%
South East Region
70.5 − 2.7%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Medway has a recorded crime rate 99.5% below South East. It is 99.6% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Kent
Violence 32
0.1 per 1,000
Theft 51
0.2 per 1,000 − 97.1%
Public order 4
0.0 per 1,000
Criminal damage 5
0.0 per 1,000
Shoplifting 41
0.1 per 1,000
Vehicle offences 2
0.0 per 1,000
Burglary 1
0.0 per 1,000
Drug offences 5
0.0 per 1,000
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 Medway.

117 schools
Open schools 117
Pupils 50,953
School places 54,530
Capacity used 93.4%
Primary 76 schools
25,017 pupils
Other / specialist 19 schools
2,887 pupils
Secondary 19 schools
21,220 pupils
16+ provision 2 schools
0 pupils
All-through 1 school
1,829 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 8
6.8% of open schools
Previous full framework 52
44.4% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 38
32.5% of open schools
No Ofsted record 18
15.4% of open schools
No published outcome 1
0.9% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

8 schools assessed
Achievement 8 assessed
Expected standard 4
Strong standard 3
Urgent improvement 1
Attendance & behaviour 8 assessed
Strong standard 5
Expected standard 2
Urgent improvement 1
Curriculum & teaching 8 assessed
Strong standard 5
Expected standard 2
Urgent improvement 1
Inclusion 8 assessed
Strong standard 7
Urgent improvement 1
Leadership & governance 8 assessed
Strong standard 5
Expected standard 2
Urgent improvement 1
Personal development 8 assessed
Strong standard 4
Expected standard 2
Exceptional 1
Needs attention 1
Safeguarding 8 assessed
Met 7
Not met 1
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 31
Requires improvement 1
Inadequate 2
Not judged 15
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
All Faiths Children's Academy URN 138182 · ME2 4UF Primary 225 210 Good
All Saints Church of England Primary School URN 142137 · ME4 5JY Primary 343 379 Ungraded inspection
Balfour Infant School URN 118329 · ME1 2QT Primary 244 270 Not judged
Balfour Junior School URN 143880 · ME4 6QX Primary 480 480 Ungraded inspection
Barnsole Primary School URN 144423 · ME7 2JG Primary 609 630 Good
Bligh Primary School (Infants) URN 144915 · ME2 2XJ Primary 303 270 Not judged
Bligh Primary School (Juniors) URN 144566 · ME2 2XJ Primary 343 330 Good
Brompton-Westbrook Primary School URN 141467 · ME7 5DQ Primary 460 420 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 292,655 2024
South East region 9,642,942
Medway represents 3.03% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+12,803 residents ↑ 4.6%
2019: 279,852 residents2020: 280,364 residents2021: 279,903 residents2022: 282,750 residents2023: 288,003 residents2024: 292,655 residents
Medway +4.6%
South East +4.9%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Medway's population grew over five years. Its change was broadly in line with the South East and broadly in line with England.

2019–2024 ONS mid-year estimates
Population estimates and labour-market measures from ONS/Nomis.Official profile
PUBLIC HEALTH

How healthy are people in Medway?

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

OHID · latest available
LIFE EXPECTANCY

How does Medway compare with England?

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

2025
Male 78.5 years
1.5 years lower than England
England 80.0
Female 82.9 years
0.9 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
59.0
1.9 year s below England
England 60.9
Female
60.2
1.1 year s 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
165.7 per 100,000
England 145.8
Worse
Cardiovascular disease 2025
87.5 per 100,000
England 71.5
Worse
Cancer 2025
129.9 per 100,000
England 114.6
Worse
Liver disease 2025
19.9 per 100,000
England 19.4
Similar
Respiratory disease 2025
43.6 per 100,000
England 31.5
Worse
Suicide rate 2022 - 24
10.3 per 100,000
England 10.9
Similar
HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

Behaviours and health risks

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

Adult smoking 2024
Medway 11.2% England 10.4%
Similar
Adults overweight or obese 2024/25
Medway 68.0% England 68.0%
Similar
Physically active adults 2024/25
Medway 62.2% England 64.6%
Worse
Alcohol-related admissions 2023/24
Medway 423.7 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
26.6%
Medway 26.6% England 23.5%
Council compared with England Worse
Year 6 overweight or obese 2024/25
38.1%
Medway 38.1% England 36.2%
Council compared with England Worse
Physically active children 2024/25
41.9%
Medway 41.9% England 49.1%
Council compared with England Worse
MMR two-dose coverage 2024/25
81.5%
Medway 81.5% England 83.7%
Council compared with England Worse
Bowel cancer screening 2025
71.3%
Medway 71.3% England 72.9%
Council compared with England Worse
WIDER HEALTH

Other measures affecting population health

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

Dementia diagnosis rate 2026
65.0 per 100
England 66.3 per 100 Similar
Air pollution mortality 2024
5.7%
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
BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in Medway?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 37,405 12.8% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +7.0% +2,439 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.6% +234 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Medway LOCAL AUTHORITY
12.8%
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
37,405 34,448 31,490
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
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

7.7 µg/m³

PM2.5 · 2,024

Human-related sources 7.1 µg/m³
Other sources 0.5 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

41.0%
13.0 7.5
2011: 12.98 µg/m³ 2012: 11.76 µg/m³ 2013: 12.33 µg/m³ 2014: 12.08 µg/m³ 2015: 10.83 µg/m³ 2016: 12.78 µg/m³ 2017: 11.89 µg/m³ 2018: 12.06 µg/m³ 2019: 11.36 µg/m³ 2020: 9.59 µg/m³ 2021: 7.49 µg/m³ 2022: 8.53 µg/m³ 2023: 7.45 µg/m³ 2024: 7.66 µg/m³
2011 2024
Since 2011 ↓ 41.0%
5 years ↓ 32.6%
10 years ↓ 36.6%
CURRENT MONITORING

Latest station measurement

UK-AIR
PM2.5 4.0 µg/m³
Provisional
Last 24 hours 4.0 – 14.0 µg/m³
2026-09-22 02:00:00+01: 9.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 03:00:00+01: 11.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 04:00:00+01: 11.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 05:00:00+01: 12.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 06:00:00+01: 10.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 07:00:00+01: 11.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 08:00:00+01: 10.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 09:00:00+01: 14.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 10:00:00+01: 12.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 11:00:00+01: 7.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 12:00:00+01: 7.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 13:00:00+01: 8.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 14:00:00+01: 8.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 15:00:00+01: 6.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 16:00:00+01: 5.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 17:00:00+01: 7.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 18:00:00+01: 6.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 19:00:00+01: 5.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 20:00:00+01: 6.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 21:00:00+01: 6.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 22:00:00+01: 5.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-22 23:00:00+01: 4.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-23 00:00:00+01: 5.0 µg/m³ 2026-09-23 01:00:00+01: 4.0 µg/m³
Chatham Roadside Automatic Urban and Rural Monitoring Network (AURN); Non-Automatic Hydrocarbon Network; UK Urban NO2 Network · Urban Traffic Latest measurement: 2026-09-23 01:00:00+01

This is a measurement from an individual monitoring station and should not be interpreted as the current concentration across the whole council area.

HEALTH IMPACT

Particulate air pollution

5.7% 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
£460.88m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£239.93m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£160.22m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£10.06m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £1,575
Median for councils of the same type £1,777 11.4% below peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Education Gross £163.49m · Income £22.52m
£140.97m
Adult social care Gross £151.47m · Income £41.16m
£110.31m
Children's social care Gross £97.33m · Income £3.69m
£93.65m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £38.93m · Income £3.53m
£35.40m
Public health Gross £22.25m · Income £2.11m
£20.15m
Culture and related services Gross £27.99m · Income £10.87m
£17.12m
Housing Gross £21.87m · Income £5.58m
£16.29m
Central services Gross £57.14m · Income £44.17m
£12.97m
Highways and transport Gross £23.85m · Income £14.24m
£9.61m
Planning and development Gross £11.76m · Income £7.34m
£4.42m
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£160.22m
Retained business rates£73.94m
Revenue Support Grant£7.79m
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £10.06m
Closing £10.06m
£0.00 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
£746.52m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£41.55m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£704.97m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£2,409 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £2,409
Median for unitary authority councils £1,104 118.3% higher than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£4.50m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£4.50m −0.6%
Change across the series +£503.83m 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£516.02m
Other longer-term borrowing£148.43m
Short-term borrowing£82.07m
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
£45.40m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
93.42% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£2.25m Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£194.19m 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
£45.40m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 59.0%
+ £16.85m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£28.55m 2021/22 £29.49m 2022/23 £33.51m 2023/24 £38.94m 2024/25 £45.40m 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.

£45.40m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £15.66m

34.5% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £29.74m

65.5% 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 93.42%

England average: 95.60%  ·  2.18 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

40 imported
DocumentDatasetPeriodStatusOfficial source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — Medwaymhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Medwaymhclg planning ps21998 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Medwaymhclg planning ps11998 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
DfT road condition statistics — Medway UAdft local road condition2007/08–2024/25importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Medway Borough Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Medway Towns UAmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Medway Towns UAmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Medway Townsmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Medway Townsmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Medway Townsmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Medway Townsmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Medway Towns UAmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Medway Towns UAmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Medway Townsmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Medway Towns UAmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Medway Towns UAmhclg 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.