South East · Non-metropolitan district

New Forest

2026/27 view

New Forest · ONS E07000091

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

27/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 134 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover18

Debt burden30

Liquidity24

Debt direction47

YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.

Net debt £106.44m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

−£3.91m 3.5%

Service expenditure £23.06m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£1.74m 8.2%

Unallocated reserves £3.00m 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 £23.06m

0.8%

Net revenue expenditure £33.66m

23.4%

Council Tax requirement £22.85m

18.6%

Unallocated reserves £3.00m

0.0%

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 population176,1162024 estimate

Latest net debt£106.44m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

37.2%recycled

Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

3.3 percentage points vs 2023/24

132 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste443.6 kgper household−13.6 kg year on year

Waste collected333.6 kgper resident+6.9 kg year on year

Household waste58,967tonnes collected21,908 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

21,908 t recycled, composted or reused 37,059 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

37.2%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across New Forest.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

84 Open schools

21,771 Pupils

25,137 School places

86.6% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in New Forest.

Attainment 8

45.5

South East 47.0

England 46.1

0.6 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

45.0%

South East 47.9%

England 45.4%

0.4 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

29.9%

South East 41.6%

England 40.5%

10.6 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.36

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

48.0 18/19

51.8 19/20

52.4 20/21

48.6 21/22

45.9 22/23

44.0 23/24

45.5 24/25

Education context

New Forest's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are below both South East 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 New Forest, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£380,000

+ 12.1% over five years

Median resident earnings

£38,571

+ 14.5% over five years

House price to earnings

9.85×

Improved from 10.07× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in New Forest.

£1,241 / month

+ 1.4% in the last year

July 2026

New Forest

£1,241

+ 1.4%

South East

£1,419

+ 2.9%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with South East £178 less per month

Compared with England £210 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

New Forest

9.85×

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 received259this quarter+38 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided194this quarter−25 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

89.2%approved

Overall approval rate173 granted21 refused+1.5 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

95.4%

Rank 95 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.4 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major6100.0%100.0% Minor4780.9%93.6% Other14191.5%95.7%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

48%

Required1,200homes over three years

Delivered579homes over three years

100% requirement

Presumption in favourHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for New Forest, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 9,309 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 52.9 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change − 9.9% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

New Forest Your council

52.9 − 9.9%

South East Region

70.5 − 2.7%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

New Forest has a recorded crime rate 25.0% below South East. It is 36.7% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Hampshire

Violence 3,760

21.3 per 1,000 − 1.3%

Theft 2,650

15.0 per 1,000 − 21.8%

Public order 889

5.0 per 1,000 − 5.9%

Criminal damage 952

5.4 per 1,000 − 13.0%

Shoplifting 764

4.3 per 1,000 − 28.0%

Vehicle offences 476

2.7 per 1,000 − 31.3%

Burglary 639

3.6 per 1,000 0.0%

Drug offences 222

1.3 per 1,000 − 16.5%

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 New Forest.

84 schools

Open schools 84

Pupils 21,771

School places 25,137

Capacity used 86.6%

Primary 53 schools

10,688 pupils

Other / specialist 21 schools

2,187 pupils

Secondary 9 schools

8,896 pupils

16+ provision 1 school

0 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 9

10.7% of open schools

Previous full framework 25

29.8% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 32

38.1% of open schools

No Ofsted record 18

21.4% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

9 schools assessed

Achievement 9 assessed

Expected standard 6

Needs attention 2

Urgent improvement 1

Attendance & behaviour 9 assessed

Expected standard 4

Strong standard 4

Needs attention 1

Curriculum & teaching 9 assessed

Expected standard 7

Strong standard 1

Urgent improvement 1

Inclusion 9 assessed

Expected standard 6

Strong standard 2

Urgent improvement 1

Leadership & governance 9 assessed

Expected standard 5

Strong standard 3

Urgent improvement 1

Personal development 9 assessed

Expected standard 4

Strong standard 4

Urgent improvement 1

Safeguarding 9 assessed

Met 9

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 5

Good 13

Not judged 7

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Abbotswood Junior School URN 116482 · SO40 8EB	Primary	629	600	Ungraded inspection
Ashley Infant School URN 115855 · BH25 5AA	Primary	149	182	Ungraded inspection
Ashley Junior School URN 116488 · BH25 5FN	Primary	230	270	Ungraded inspection
Bartley Church of England Junior School URN 116338 · SO40 2HR	Primary	279	324	Ungraded inspection
Beaulieu Village Primary School URN 115861 · SO42 7YD	Primary	124	105	Renewed framework
Blackfield Primary and Nursery School URN 141474 · SO45 1XA	Primary	434	540	Good
Bransgore Church of England Primary School URN 137693 · BH23 8JH	Primary	351	339	Renewed framework
Breamore Church of England Primary School URN 116275 · SP6 2EF	Primary	77	120	Not judged

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 176,116 2024

South East region 9,642,942

Five-year population change

−995 residents ↓ 0.6%

New Forest −0.6%

South East +4.9%

England +4.3%

Growth context

New Forest's population declined over five years. Its change was 5.4 percentage points below the South East and 4.8 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 New Forest?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 13,619 7.7% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.3% +1,039 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.2% +32 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

New Forest LOCAL AUTHORITY

7.7%

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

13,651 12,447 11,242

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

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

£23.06m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£33.66m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£22.85m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£3.00m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £131

Median for councils of the same type £166 20.9% 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 £15.85m · Income £4.31m

£11.54m

Central services Gross £18.87m · Income £13.12m

£5.75m

Planning and development Gross £5.18m · Income £2.03m

£3.15m

Housing Gross £7.15m · Income £4.05m

£3.10m

Culture and related services Gross £2.80m · Income £1.98m

£821.0k

Other services Gross £1.97m · Income £1.18m

£787.0k

Public health Gross £206.0k · Income £73.0k

£133.0k

Adult social care Gross £431.0k · Income £392.0k

£39.0k

Highways and transport Gross £2.86m · Income £5.14m

£-2.27m

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£22.85m

Retained business rates£7.78m

Revenue Support Grant£260.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £3.00m

Closing £3.00m

£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

£124.55m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£18.11m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£106.44m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£604 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £604

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 534.8% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£3.91m quarterly reduction

2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1

Latest quarterly movement −£3.91m −3.5%

Change across the series +£56.74m 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£124.55m

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

£6.32m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

98.49% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£523,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£170.45m 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

£6.32m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 46.3%

+ £2.00m

ENGLAND CHANGE

+49.5%

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.

£6.32m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.66m

42.0% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £3.67m

58.0% 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 98.49%

England average: 95.60% · 2.89 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

Contract	Supplier	Status	End date	Original value

SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions

Supplier	Payments	Published expenditure

PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported

Document	Dataset	Period	Status	Official source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — New Forest	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — New Forest	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — New Forest	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — New Forest District Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — New Forest	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — New Forest	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2024/25	imported	Open

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.