West Midlands · Non-metropolitan district

South Staffordshire

2026/27 view

South Staffordshire · ONS E07000196

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

48/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 87 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover69

Debt burden51

Liquidity39

Debt direction4

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

Net debt £10.75m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

+£2.65m 32.7%

Service expenditure £19.99m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£903.0k 4.3%

Unallocated reserves £7.90m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£426.0k 5.1%

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 £19.99m

22.3%

Net revenue expenditure £22.57m

27.6%

Council Tax requirement £8.40m

21.0%

Unallocated reserves £7.90m

0.1%

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 population114,4232024 estimate

Latest net debt£10.75m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

44.6%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

1.0 percentage points vs 2023/24

69 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste471.2 kgper household+6.0 kg year on year

Waste collected367.1 kgper resident−5.0 kg year on year

Household waste42,021tonnes collected18,757 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

18,757 t recycled, composted or reused 23,264 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

44.6%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across South Staffordshire.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

59 Open schools

16,630 Pupils

18,103 School places

91.9% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in South Staffordshire.

Attainment 8

45.7

West Midlands 44.6

England 46.1

0.4 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

43.4%

West Midlands 41.7%

England 45.4%

2.0 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

29.0%

West Midlands 37.9%

England 40.5%

11.5 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.06

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

47.4 18/19

50.7 19/20

52.4 20/21

50.8 21/22

47.2 22/23

47.0 23/24

45.7 24/25

Education context

South Staffordshire's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with West Midlands and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency

HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025

Median house price

£290,000

+ 22.8% over five years

Median resident earnings

£38,788

+ 6.2% over five years

House price to earnings

7.48×

Higher from 6.47× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in South Staffordshire.

£949 / month

+ 4.8% in the last year

July 2026

South Staffordshire

£949

+ 4.8%

West Midlands

£974

+ 4.5%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with West Midlands £25 less per month

Compared with England £502 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

South Staffordshire

7.48×

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 received174this quarter−12 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided176this quarter+31 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

82.4%approved

Overall approval rate145 granted31 refused+3.1 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

97.7%

Rank 45 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

1.2 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major785.7%100.0% Minor4860.4%95.8% Other12190.9%98.4%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

171%

Required701homes over three years

Delivered1,201homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for South Staffordshire, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 5,812 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 50.8 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change + 2.6% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

South Staffordshire Your council

50.8 + 2.6%

West Midlands Region

82.2 − 1.2%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

South Staffordshire has a recorded crime rate 38.2% below West Midlands. It is 39.1% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Staffordshire

Violence 2,597

22.7 per 1,000 + 8.8%

Theft 1,412

12.3 per 1,000 − 13.7%

Public order 465

4.1 per 1,000 + 2.6%

Criminal damage 501

4.4 per 1,000 + 6.8%

Shoplifting 227

2.0 per 1,000 − 22.3%

Vehicle offences 470

4.1 per 1,000 − 16.5%

Burglary 311

2.7 per 1,000 − 3.1%

Drug offences 231

2.0 per 1,000 + 11.6%

ONS / Home Office · Police-recorded crime · Community Safety Partnership data

SCHOOLS & OFSTED

Schools and inspection outcomes

Open schools, pupil numbers and the latest published Ofsted inspection position for South Staffordshire.

59 schools

Open schools 59

Pupils 16,630

School places 18,103

Capacity used 91.9%

Primary 36 schools

8,158 pupils

Other / specialist 10 schools

685 pupils

Secondary 7 schools

5,791 pupils

Middle deemed secondary 5 schools

1,996 pupils

16+ provision 1 school

0 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 8

13.6% of open schools

Previous full framework 24

40.7% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 17

28.8% of open schools

No Ofsted record 9

15.3% of open schools

No published outcome 1

1.7% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

8 schools assessed

Achievement 8 assessed

Expected standard 7

Strong standard 1

Attendance & behaviour 8 assessed

Expected standard 4

Strong standard 4

Curriculum & teaching 8 assessed

Expected standard 8

Inclusion 8 assessed

Expected standard 5

Strong standard 3

Leadership & governance 8 assessed

Expected standard 6

Strong standard 2

Personal development 8 assessed

Expected standard 4

Strong standard 4

Safeguarding 8 assessed

Met 8

PREVIOUS FRAMEWORK

Legacy Ofsted ratings

These ratings apply only to schools whose latest full inspection remains under the previous Ofsted framework. Schools assessed under the renewed framework are shown separately above.

Good 17

Requires improvement 2

Inadequate 1

Not judged 4

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
All Saints CofE Primary School, Bednall URN 147449 · ST17 0SD	Primary	42	80	Requires improvement
All Saints' CofE Primary School URN 146807 · WV5 7HR	Primary	107	105	Good
Birches First School URN 144935 · WV8 2JG	Primary	175	150	Good
Blakeley Heath Primary School URN 124192 · WV5 0JR	Primary	359	420	Ungraded inspection
Brindley Heath Junior School Academy URN 146609 · DY7 6AA	Primary	221	240	Good
Cheslyn Hay Primary Academy URN 150922 · WS6 7JQ	Primary	453	419	No published outcome
Corbett VA CofE Primary School URN 124464 · DY7 5DU	Primary	70	98	Ungraded inspection
Featherstone Academy URN 141278 · WV10 7AS	Primary	250	256	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 114,423 2024

West Midlands region 6,187,204

Five-year population change

+3,945 residents ↑ 3.6%

South Staffordshire +3.6%

West Midlands +4.5%

England +4.3%

Growth context

South Staffordshire's population grew over five years. Its change was 0.9 percentage points below the West Midlands and 0.7 percentage points below England.

2019–2024 ONS mid-year estimates

Population estimates and labour-market measures from ONS/Nomis.Official profile

BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in South Staffordshire?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 9,156 8.0% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.9% +747 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.5% +48 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

South Staffordshire LOCAL AUTHORITY

8.0%

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

9,156 8,468 7,780

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

£19.99m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£22.57m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£8.40m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£7.90m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £175

Median for councils of the same type £166 5.6% above peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Other services Gross £6.99m · Income £80.0k

£6.91m

Central services Gross £13.80m · Income £9.04m

£4.76m

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £7.88m · Income £3.41m

£4.47m

Culture and related services Gross £5.44m · Income £3.28m

£2.16m

Housing Gross £2.22m · Income £701.0k

£1.52m

Highways and transport Gross £212.0k · Income £59.0k

£153.0k

Public health Gross £88.0k · Income £17.0k

£71.0k

Planning and development Gross £7.24m · Income £7.28m

£-45.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£8.40m

Retained business rates£14.06m

Revenue Support Grant£216.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £8.33m

Closing £7.90m

£428.0k 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

£15.00m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£4.25m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£10.75m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£94 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £94

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 1.3% lower than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£2.65m quarterly increase

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

Latest quarterly movement +£2.65m +32.7%

Change across the series +£25.35m 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£15.00m

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

£4.81m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

97.78% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£410,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£88.49m 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

£4.81m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 45.5%

+ £1.50m

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.

£4.81m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.10m

43.8% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £2.70m

56.2% 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 97.78%

England average: 95.60% · 2.18 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 — South Staffordshire	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — South Staffordshire	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — South Staffordshire	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — South Staffordshire Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — South Staffordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — South Staffordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — South Staffordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — South Staffordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — South Staffordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — South Staffordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — South Staffordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — South Staffordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — South Staffordshire	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — South Staffordshire	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — South Staffordshire	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.