South East · Non-metropolitan district

Surrey Heath

2026/27 view

Surrey Heath · ONS E07000214

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

11/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 162 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover7

Debt burden8

Liquidity13

Debt direction26

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

Net debt £167.47m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

+£3.23m 2.0%

Service expenditure £17.95m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£1.03m 6.1%

Unallocated reserves £538.0k 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£4.52m 89.4%

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 £17.95m

57.8%

Net revenue expenditure £20.12m

118.6%

Council Tax requirement £10.89m

15.8%

Unallocated reserves £538.0k

95.5%

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 population94,4922024 estimate

Latest net debt£167.47m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

59.0%recycled

Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

0.1 percentage points vs 2023/24

7 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste346.2 kgper household+5.0 kg year on year

Waste collected345.6 kgper resident−2.2 kg year on year

Household waste32,679tonnes collected19,283 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

19,283 t recycled, composted or reused 13,396 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

59.0%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Surrey Heath.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

36 Open schools

12,674 Pupils

14,206 School places

89.2% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Surrey Heath.

Attainment 8

49.6

South East 47.0

England 46.1

3.5 points above England

English & maths grade 5+

54.3%

South East 47.9%

England 45.4%

8.9 percentage points above England

EBacc entry

32.1%

South East 41.6%

England 40.5%

8.4 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.26

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

51.1 18/19

55.5 19/20

53.7 20/21

54.7 21/22

52.8 22/23

51.5 23/24

49.6 24/25

Education context

Surrey Heath'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 Surrey Heath, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£470,000

+ 8.0% over five years

Median resident earnings

£43,633

+ 10.3% over five years

House price to earnings

10.77×

Improved from 11.00× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Surrey Heath.

£1,508 / month

+ 1.8% in the last year

July 2026

Surrey Heath

£1,508

+ 1.8%

South East

£1,419

+ 2.9%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with South East £89 more per month

Compared with England £57 more per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Surrey Heath

10.77×

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 received178this quarter+28 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided128this quarter−30 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

85.9%approved

Overall approval rate110 granted18 refused+1.1 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

90.6%

Rank 186 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

1.8 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major8100.0%100.0% Minor1573.3%73.3% Other10586.7%92.4%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

98%

Required965homes over three years

Delivered950homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Surrey Heath, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 4,886 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 51.7 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change − 3.5% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

Surrey Heath Your council

51.7 − 3.5%

South East Region

70.5 − 2.7%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

Surrey Heath has a recorded crime rate 26.6% below South East. It is 38.0% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Surrey

Violence 1,915

20.3 per 1,000 − 3.5%

Theft 1,251

13.2 per 1,000 − 16.0%

Public order 552

5.8 per 1,000 + 4.2%

Criminal damage 437

4.6 per 1,000 − 9.3%

Shoplifting 381

4.0 per 1,000 − 20.1%

Vehicle offences 233

2.5 per 1,000 − 23.1%

Burglary 134

1.4 per 1,000 − 44.2%

Drug offences 155

1.6 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 Surrey Heath.

36 schools

Open schools 36

Pupils 12,674

School places 14,206

Capacity used 89.2%

Primary 25 schools

6,662 pupils

Other / specialist 7 schools

1,110 pupils

Secondary 4 schools

4,902 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 2

5.6% of open schools

Previous full framework 17

47.2% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 13

36.1% of open schools

No Ofsted record 4

11.1% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

2 schools assessed

Achievement 2 assessed

Expected standard 1

Needs attention 1

Attendance & behaviour 2 assessed

Expected standard 2

Curriculum & teaching 2 assessed

Expected standard 1

Needs attention 1

Inclusion 2 assessed

Expected standard 2

Leadership & governance 2 assessed

Expected standard 2

Personal development 2 assessed

Expected standard 2

Safeguarding 2 assessed

Met 2

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 10

Requires improvement 1

Not judged 4

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Bagshot Infant School URN 124996 · GU19 5BP	Primary	147	187	Ungraded inspection
Bisley CofE Primary School URN 125153 · GU24 9DF	Primary	324	446	Good
Connaught Junior School URN 140256 · GU19 5JY	Primary	470	480	Outstanding
Cordwalles Junior School URN 140349 · GU15 4DR	Primary	218	240	Ungraded inspection
Crawley Ridge Infant School URN 145702 · GU15 2AJ	Primary	206	208	Good
Crawley Ridge Junior School URN 145703 · GU15 2AJ	Primary	234	240	Good
Cross Farm Infant Academy URN 142345 · GU16 6LZ	Primary	69	180	Requires improvement
Frimley CofE School URN 148435 · GU16 6ND	Primary	336	360	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 94,492 2024

South East region 9,642,942

Five-year population change

+3,948 residents ↑ 4.4%

Surrey Heath +4.4%

South East +4.9%

England +4.3%

Growth context

Surrey Heath's population grew over five years. Its change was 0.5 percentage points below 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

BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in Surrey Heath?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 5,879 6.2% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +9.3% +501 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.8% +49 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

Surrey Heath LOCAL AUTHORITY

6.2%

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

5,879 5,306 4,732

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

£17.95m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£20.12m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£10.89m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£538.0k 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £190

Median for councils of the same type £166 14.8% 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 £7.63m · Income £1.73m

£5.90m

Central services Gross £12.67m · Income £8.94m

£3.73m

Housing Gross £4.89m · Income £1.85m

£3.04m

Planning and development Gross £5.05m · Income £2.34m

£2.71m

Culture and related services Gross £4.54m · Income £2.24m

£2.30m

Adult social care Gross £684.0k · Income £0.00

£684.0k

Highways and transport Gross £1.86m · Income £2.28m

£-416.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£10.89m

Retained business rates£531.0k

Revenue Support Grant£83.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £538.0k

Closing £538.0k

£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

£183.15m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£15.68m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£167.47m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£1,772 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £1,772

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 1,761.3% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£3.23m quarterly increase

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

Latest quarterly movement +£3.23m +2.0%

Change across the series +£24.62m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1

What changed?

Net debt increased during the quarter, with higher outstanding borrowing contributing to the movement.

BORROWING COMPOSITION

Where the borrowing sits

PWLB, other longer-term borrowing and short-term borrowing.

2026/27 Q1

Public Works Loan Board£47.23m

Other longer-term borrowing£44.91m

Short-term borrowing£91.00m

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

£4.27m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

99.08% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£372,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£99.36m 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

£4.27m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 17.5%

+ £638,000

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.

£4.27m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £1.82m

42.6% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £2.45m

57.4% 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 99.08%

England average: 95.60% · 3.48 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 — Surrey Heath	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Surrey Heath	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Surrey Heath	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — Surrey Heath Borough Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Surrey Heath	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Surrey Heath	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Surrey Heath	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Surrey Heath	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Surrey Heath	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Surrey Heath	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Surrey Heath	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Surrey Heath	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Surrey Heath	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Surrey Heath	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Surrey Heath	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.