⌘ K
Overview

West Midlands · Non-metropolitan district

Redditch

2026/27 view

Redditch · ONS E07000236

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

19/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 153 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover2
Debt burden18
Liquidity8
Debt direction74
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £96.44m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
−£17.49m 15.4%
Service expenditure £13.88m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
−£1.61m 10.4%
Unallocated reserves £0.00 2024/25 vs 2023/24
£0.00
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 £13.88m
54.7%
2020/21: £30.63m 2021/22: £16.04m 2022/23: £10.80m 2023/24: £15.49m 2024/25: £13.88m
Net revenue expenditure £11.23m
56.1%
2020/21: £25.60m 2021/22: £14.99m 2022/23: £12.21m 2023/24: £9.92m 2024/25: £11.23m
Council Tax requirement £7.15m
11.3%
2020/21: £6.43m 2021/22: £6.53m 2022/23: £6.76m 2023/24: £6.91m 2024/25: £7.15m
Unallocated reserves £0.00
—
2020/21: £0.00 2021/22: £0.00 2022/23: £0.00 2023/24: £0.00 2024/25: £0.00
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 population87,8472024 estimate
Latest net debt£96.44m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
29.6%recycled
Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

1.2 percentage points vs 2023/24
178 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste524.2 kgper household+1.7 kg year on year
Waste collected321.8 kgper resident+4.6 kg year on year
Household waste28,268tonnes collected8,368 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

8,368 t recycled, composted or reused 19,900 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

29.6%
2015/16: 31.5%2016/17: 31.0%2017/18: 29.7%2018/19: 30.3%2019/20: 28.9%2020/21: 27.5%2021/22: 28.3%2022/23: 27.4%2023/24: 28.4%2024/25: 29.6%
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 Redditch.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
36 Open schools
12,314 Pupils
14,318 School places
86.0% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Redditch.

Attainment 8
40.5
West Midlands 44.6
England 46.1
5.6 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
34.8%
West Midlands 41.7%
England 45.4%
10.6 percentage points below England
EBacc entry
25.6%
West Midlands 37.9%
England 40.5%
14.9 percentage points below England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.10

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

44.9 18/19
47.9 19/20
46.9 20/21
44.9 21/22
43.5 22/23
43.6 23/24
40.5 24/25
Education context

Redditch's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are below 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 Redditch, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£255,000
+ 15.9% over five years
Median resident earnings
£35,251
+ 34.5% over five years
House price to earnings
7.23×
Improved from 8.40× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Redditch.

£951 / month
+ 8.5% in the last year
July 2026
Redditch
£951
+ 8.5%
West Midlands
£974
+ 4.5%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with West Midlands £23 less per month
Compared with England £500 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Redditch
7.23×
West Midlands
6.80×
England
7.64×
Compared with West Midlands Less affordable
Compared with England More affordable
Source: Office for National Statistics · Housing affordability in England and Wales · House prices year ending September · Residence-based earnings
PLANNING & HOUSING DELIVERY

Is development moving through the system?

Quarterly planning decisions and the government's latest three-year Housing Delivery Test.

2026 Q1
Applications received53this quarter−72 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided42this quarter+6 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
92.9%approved
Overall approval rate39 granted3 refused−1.6 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

83.3%
Rank 249 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.0 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major2100.0%100.0% Minor1283.3%83.3% Other2896.4%82.1%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 402024 Q3: 352024 Q4: 342025 Q1: 372025 Q2: 472025 Q3: 332025 Q4: 1252026 Q1: 532024 Q2: 392024 Q3: 352024 Q4: 432025 Q1: 412025 Q2: 402025 Q3: 422025 Q4: 362026 Q1: 42
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

129%
Required457homes over three years
Delivered590homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 18,728 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 63.8 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 2.2% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Redditch Your council
63.8 − 2.2%
West Midlands Region
82.2 − 1.2%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Redditch has a recorded crime rate 22.4% below West Midlands. It is 23.5% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

West Mercia
Violence 7,500
25.6 per 1,000 + 3.7%
Theft 5,662
19.3 per 1,000 − 12.5%
Public order 1,462
5.0 per 1,000 − 10.1%
Criminal damage 1,711
5.8 per 1,000 − 4.3%
Shoplifting 2,015
6.9 per 1,000 − 8.5%
Vehicle offences 1,112
3.8 per 1,000 − 22.4%
Burglary 942
3.2 per 1,000 − 12.6%
Drug offences 489
1.7 per 1,000 + 15.6%
Crime figures cover the North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership, including Bromsgrove, Redditch, Wyre Forest.
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 Redditch.

36 schools
Open schools 36
Pupils 12,314
School places 14,318
Capacity used 86.0%
Primary 19 schools
4,941 pupils
Middle deemed secondary 6 schools
3,365 pupils
Other / specialist 5 schools
345 pupils
Secondary 5 schools
3,663 pupils
16+ provision 1 school
0 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 7
19.4% of open schools
Previous full framework 19
52.8% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 7
19.4% of open schools
No Ofsted record 2
5.6% of open schools
No published outcome 1
2.8% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

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

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Abbeywood First School URN 142541 · B98 9LR Primary 255 300 Good
Arrow Valley First School URN 148140 · B98 0LH Primary 137 234 Good
Astwood Bank Primary School URN 140258 · B96 6EH Primary 418 420 Good
Batchley First and Nursery School URN 116721 · B97 6PD Primary 233 300 Renewed framework
Crabbs Cross Academy URN 139825 · B97 5JH Primary 165 225 Not judged
Feckenham CofE Primary School URN 148115 · B96 6QD Primary 95 105 Good
Holyoakes Field First School URN 146719 · B97 6HF Primary 315 326 Not judged
Matchborough First School Academy URN 140309 · B98 0GD Primary 335 310 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 87,847 2024
West Midlands region 6,187,204
Redditch represents 1.42% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+1,540 residents ↑ 1.8%
2019: 86,307 residents2020: 86,561 residents2021: 86,981 residents2022: 87,189 residents2023: 87,510 residents2024: 87,847 residents
Redditch +1.8%
West Midlands +4.5%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Redditch's population grew over five years. Its change was 2.7 percentage points below the West Midlands and 2.5 percentage points below England.

2019–2024 ONS mid-year estimates
Population estimates and labour-market measures from ONS/Nomis.Official profile
BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in Redditch?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 10,925 12.4% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +5.1% +527 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.4% +45 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Redditch LOCAL AUTHORITY
12.4%
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
11,051 10,292 9,532
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
£13.88m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£11.23m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£7.15m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£0.00 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £158
Median for councils of the same type £166 4.6% below peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Central services Gross £15.51m · Income £9.64m
£5.87m
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £7.60m · Income £5.20m
£2.40m
Housing Gross £4.05m · Income £1.82m
£2.24m
Planning and development Gross £3.70m · Income £2.27m
£1.43m
Culture and related services Gross £1.98m · Income £560.0k
£1.42m
Highways and transport Gross £650.0k · Income £132.0k
£518.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£7.15m
Retained business rates£4.86m
Revenue Support Grant£34.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £0.00
Closing £0.00
£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
£103.93m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£7.49m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£96.44m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£1,098 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £1,098
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 1,052.9% higher than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£17.49m quarterly reduction
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement −£17.49m −15.4%
Change across the series −£1.36m 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£98.93m
Other longer-term borrowing£5.00m
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
£12.00m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
95.98% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£248,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£59.14m 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
£12.00m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 42.7%
+ £3.59m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£8.41m 2021/22 £9.18m 2022/23 £10.07m 2023/24 £11.14m 2024/25 £12.00m 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.

£12.00m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.60m

21.6% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £9.40m

78.4% 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 95.98%

England average: 95.60%  ·  0.38 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 — Redditchmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Redditchmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Redditchmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Redditch Borough Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Redditch BCmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Redditch BCmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Redditchmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Redditchmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Redditchmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Redditchmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Redditch BCmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Redditch BCmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Redditchmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Redditch BCmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Redditch BCmhclg 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.