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Overview

South West · Non-metropolitan district

Stroud

2026/27 view

Stroud · ONS E07000082

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

26/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 138 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover16
Debt burden32
Liquidity43
Debt direction14
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £66.83m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
+£5.67m 9.3%
Service expenditure £21.13m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£3.16m 17.6%
Unallocated reserves £2.17m 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 £21.13m
33.1%
2020/21: £15.88m 2021/22: £13.94m 2022/23: £15.72m 2023/24: £17.97m 2024/25: £21.13m
Net revenue expenditure £26.65m
33.7%
2020/21: £19.93m 2021/22: £18.16m 2022/23: £19.04m 2023/24: £21.18m 2024/25: £26.65m
Council Tax requirement £16.56m
19.8%
2020/21: £13.82m 2021/22: £14.29m 2022/23: £14.97m 2023/24: £15.63m 2024/25: £16.56m
Unallocated reserves £2.17m
0.0%
2020/21: £2.17m 2021/22: £2.17m 2022/23: £2.17m 2023/24: £2.17m 2024/25: £2.17m
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 population125,6802024 estimate
Latest net debt£66.83m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
56.4%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.1 percentage points vs 2023/24
19 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste299.0 kgper household+0.4 kg year on year
Waste collected305.8 kgper resident−0.7 kg year on year
Household waste39,010tonnes collected21,984 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

21,984 t recycled, composted or reused 17,025 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

56.4%
2015/16: 31.5%2016/17: 45.5%2017/18: 61.2%2018/19: 60.2%2019/20: 59.7%2020/21: 59.4%2021/22: 58.2%2022/23: 56.6%2023/24: 56.5%2024/25: 56.4%
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 Stroud.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
85 Open schools
19,099 Pupils
20,831 School places
91.7% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Stroud.

Attainment 8
49.4
South West 46.2
England 46.1
3.3 points above England
English & maths grade 5+
53.5%
South West 46.2%
England 45.4%
8.1 percentage points above England
EBacc entry
32.2%
South West 33.0%
England 40.5%
8.3 percentage points below England
PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.07

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.
TREND

Attainment 8 over time

50.4 18/19
53.7 19/20
55.1 20/21
52.6 21/22
50.4 22/23
49.4 23/24
49.4 24/25
Education context

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

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency
HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025
Median house price
£330,000
+ 20.0% over five years
Median resident earnings
£38,608
+ 22.2% over five years
House price to earnings
8.55×
Improved from 8.70× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Stroud.

£1,040 / month
+ 6.0% in the last year
July 2026
Stroud
£1,040
+ 6.0%
South West
£1,236
+ 4.5%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South West £196 less per month
Compared with England £411 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Stroud
8.55×
South West
8.26×
England
7.64×
Compared with South West 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 received243this quarter+2 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided175this quarter−72 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
89.1%approved
Overall approval rate156 granted19 refused−1.1 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

91.4%
Rank 170 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

3.7 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major666.7%83.3% Minor3979.5%94.9% Other13093.1%90.8%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 3412024 Q3: 2692024 Q4: 2512025 Q1: 3172025 Q2: 2812025 Q3: 2832025 Q4: 2412026 Q1: 2432024 Q2: 2892024 Q3: 2912024 Q4: 2572025 Q1: 2302025 Q2: 2732025 Q3: 2692025 Q4: 2472026 Q1: 175
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

85%
Required1,932homes over three years
Delivered1,633homes over three years
100% requirement
Action planHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 6,200 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 49.3 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change − 0.1% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Stroud Your council
49.3 − 0.1%
South West Region
73.5 + 1.3%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Stroud has a recorded crime rate 32.9% below South West. It is 40.9% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Gloucestershire
Violence 2,679
21.3 per 1,000 − 2.4%
Theft 1,669
13.3 per 1,000 − 0.3%
Public order 468
3.7 per 1,000 − 12.8%
Criminal damage 550
4.4 per 1,000 − 0.4%
Shoplifting 489
3.9 per 1,000 + 21.3%
Vehicle offences 311
2.5 per 1,000 − 22.1%
Burglary 309
2.5 per 1,000 + 1.6%
Drug offences 175
1.4 per 1,000 + 19.9%
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 Stroud.

85 schools
Open schools 85
Pupils 19,099
School places 20,831
Capacity used 91.7%
Primary 58 schools
9,480 pupils
Other / specialist 18 schools
1,688 pupils
Secondary 8 schools
7,931 pupils
16+ provision 1 school
0 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 5
5.9% of open schools
Previous full framework 42
49.4% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 21
24.7% of open schools
No Ofsted record 15
17.6% of open schools
No published outcome 2
2.4% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

5 schools assessed
Achievement 5 assessed
Expected standard 2
Needs attention 2
Urgent improvement 1
Attendance & behaviour 5 assessed
Expected standard 3
Needs attention 2
Curriculum & teaching 5 assessed
Needs attention 2
Expected standard 1
Strong standard 1
Urgent improvement 1
Inclusion 5 assessed
Needs attention 2
Expected standard 1
Strong standard 1
Urgent improvement 1
Leadership & governance 5 assessed
Needs attention 2
Expected standard 1
Strong standard 1
Urgent improvement 1
Personal development 5 assessed
Expected standard 2
Strong standard 2
Needs attention 1
Safeguarding 5 assessed
Met 5
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 2
Good 26
Inadequate 1
Not judged 13
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Amberley Parochial School URN 149830 · GL5 5JG Primary 104 105 Ungraded inspection
Berkeley Primary School URN 143207 · GL13 9AZ Primary 232 210 Good
Bisley Blue Coat Church of England Primary School URN 115612 · GL6 7BE Primary 60 84 Good
Blue Coat CofE Primary School URN 115734 · GL12 7BD Primary 316 315 Good
Brimscombe Church of England (VA) Primary School URN 115690 · GL5 2QR Primary 115 105 Good
Bussage Church of England Primary School URN 115678 · GL6 8FW Primary 192 210 Ungraded inspection
Callowell Primary Academy URN 150052 · GL5 4DG Primary 134 210 Inadequate
Cam Everlands Primary School URN 115578 · GL11 5SF Primary 208 210 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 125,680 2024
South West region 5,889,695
Stroud represents 2.13% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+6,848 residents ↑ 5.8%
2019: 118,832 residents2020: 119,511 residents2021: 121,493 residents2022: 123,282 residents2023: 124,456 residents2024: 125,680 residents
Stroud +5.8%
South West +4.4%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Stroud's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.4 percentage points above the South West and 1.5 percentage points above England.

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

How is Universal Credit changing in Stroud?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 9,568 7.6% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +9.7% +848 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.6% +61 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Stroud LOCAL AUTHORITY
7.6%
South West REGION
10.0%
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
9,568 8,763 7,958
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
£21.13m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£26.65m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£16.56m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£2.17m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £168
Median for councils of the same type £166 1.6% above peer median
2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn
Environmental and regulatory services Gross £12.15m · Income £4.43m
£7.73m
Central services Gross £18.61m · Income £14.08m
£4.53m
Planning and development Gross £7.14m · Income £3.36m
£3.78m
Culture and related services Gross £5.84m · Income £3.16m
£2.68m
Housing Gross £2.69m · Income £86.0k
£2.60m
Other services Gross £75.0k · Income £0.00
£75.0k
Highways and transport Gross £494.0k · Income £755.0k
£-261.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£16.56m
Retained business rates£7.57m
Revenue Support Grant£170.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £2.17m
Closing £2.17m
£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
£100.72m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£33.88m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£66.83m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£532 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £532
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 458.5% higher than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£5.67m quarterly increase
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement +£5.67m +9.3%
Change across the series +£16.13m 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£100.72m
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
£6.66m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
97.71% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£313,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£112.06m 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
£6.66m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 6.0%
+ £374,000
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£6.29m 2021/22 £4.51m 2022/23 £5.15m 2023/24 £5.52m 2024/25 £6.66m 2025/26

Figures represent total outstanding council tax balances, including arrears carried forward from earlier years. Changes in council boundaries can affect historical comparisons.

OUTSTANDING ARREARS

Where does the unpaid council tax come from?

Breakdown of outstanding balances at the end of 2025/26.

£6.66m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.67m

40.1% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £3.99m

59.9% 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 97.71%

England average: 95.60%  ·  2.11 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 — Stroudmhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Stroudmhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Stroudmhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Stroud District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Stroudmhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Stroudmhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Stroudmhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Stroudmhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Stroudmhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Stroudmhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Stroudmhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Stroudmhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Stroudmhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Stroudmhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Stroudmhclg 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.