East of England · Non-metropolitan district

Uttlesford

2026/27 view

Uttlesford · ONS E07000077

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

23/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 146 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover24

Debt burden4

Liquidity43

Debt direction34

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

Net debt £203.93m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

−£186.0k 0.1%

Service expenditure £17.32m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£523.6k 2.9%

Unallocated reserves £2.00m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£706.0k 26.1%

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 £17.32m

32.8%

Net revenue expenditure £18.14m

3.0%

Council Tax requirement £11.87m

22.9%

Unallocated reserves £2.00m

67.6%

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 population95,1062024 estimate

Latest net debt£203.93m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

50.7%recycled

Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

1.2 percentage points vs 2023/24

42 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste385.2 kgper household−7.8 kg year on year

Waste collected334.8 kgper resident+1.8 kg year on year

Household waste31,846tonnes collected16,132 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

16,132 t recycled, composted or reused 15,714 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

50.7%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Uttlesford.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

44 Open schools

13,200 Pupils

14,521 School places

90.9% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Uttlesford.

Attainment 8

50.6

East of England 46.2

England 46.1

4.5 points above England

English & maths grade 5+

53.5%

East of England 45.9%

England 45.4%

8.1 percentage points above England

EBacc entry

47.7%

East of England 40.0%

England 40.5%

7.2 percentage points above England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.05

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

52.7 18/19

55.1 19/20

55.5 20/21

53.5 21/22

49.1 22/23

50.0 23/24

50.6 24/25

Education context

Uttlesford's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are above both East of England 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 Uttlesford, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£462,000

+ 11.3% over five years

Median resident earnings

£50,103

+ 37.3% over five years

House price to earnings

9.22×

Improved from 11.38× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Uttlesford.

£1,286 / month

+ 0.2% in the last year

July 2026

Uttlesford

£1,286

+ 0.2%

East of England

£1,285

+ 3.7%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East of England £1 more per month

Compared with England £165 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Uttlesford

9.22×

East of England

8.52×

England

7.64×

Compared with East of England 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 received278this quarter−42 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided283this quarter−41 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

75.3%approved

Overall approval rate213 granted70 refused−1.9 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

86.6%

Rank 227 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

4.8 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major988.9%100.0% Minor11670.7%77.6% Other15877.9%92.4%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

108%

Required2,051homes over three years

Delivered2,218homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 4,866 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 51.2 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change − 3.1% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

Uttlesford Your council

51.2 − 3.1%

East of England Region

68.4 − 0.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

Uttlesford has a recorded crime rate 25.2% below East of England. It is 38.7% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Essex

Violence 1,753

18.4 per 1,000 + 1.4%

Theft 1,652

17.4 per 1,000 − 11.8%

Public order 337

3.5 per 1,000 − 10.1%

Criminal damage 507

5.3 per 1,000 + 12.7%

Shoplifting 401

4.2 per 1,000 + 3.6%

Vehicle offences 330

3.5 per 1,000 − 30.8%

Burglary 235

2.5 per 1,000 − 14.9%

Drug offences 200

2.1 per 1,000 + 10.5%

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 Uttlesford.

44 schools

Open schools 44

Pupils 13,200

School places 14,521

Capacity used 90.9%

Primary 37 schools

7,330 pupils

Other / specialist 3 schools

1,077 pupils

Secondary 3 schools

3,528 pupils

All-through 1 school

1,265 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 3

6.8% of open schools

Previous full framework 22

50.0% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 16

36.4% of open schools

No Ofsted record 3

6.8% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

3 schools assessed

Achievement 3 assessed

Expected standard 2

Needs attention 1

Attendance & behaviour 3 assessed

Expected standard 2

Needs attention 1

Curriculum & teaching 3 assessed

Expected standard 3

Inclusion 3 assessed

Expected standard 2

Strong standard 1

Leadership & governance 3 assessed

Expected standard 3

Personal development 3 assessed

Expected standard 2

Strong standard 1

Safeguarding 3 assessed

Met 3

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 15

Not judged 5

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Ashdon Primary School URN 114964 · CB10 2HB	Primary	58	105	Ungraded inspection
Bentfield Primary School and Nursery URN 114978 · CM24 8DX	Primary	208	236	Ungraded inspection
Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School URN 115127 · CM23 5QL	Primary	93	117	Renewed framework
Chrishall Holy Trinity and St Nicholas CofE (Aided) Primary School and Pre-School URN 115195 · SG8 8QE	Primary	124	105	Ungraded inspection
Clavering Primary School URN 114967 · CB11 4PE	Primary	179	210	Good
Debden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary Academy URN 143855 · CB11 3LE	Primary	140	161	Good
Dunmow St Mary's Primary School URN 115299 · CM6 1EB	Primary	459	420	Good
Elsenham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School URN 115129 · CM22 6DD	Primary	403	420	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 95,106 2024

East of England region 6,576,306

Five-year population change

+5,745 residents ↑ 6.4%

Uttlesford +6.4%

East of England +4.8%

England +4.3%

Growth context

Uttlesford's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.6 percentage points above the East of England and 2.2 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 Uttlesford?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 5,910 6.2% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +6.9% +383 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.9% +51 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

Uttlesford LOCAL AUTHORITY

6.2%

East of England REGION

10.3%

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

5,910 5,427 4,943

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

£17.32m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£18.14m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£11.87m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£2.00m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £182

Median for councils of the same type £166 10.0% above peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Central services Gross £15.35m · Income £4.97m

£10.38m

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £7.89m · Income £4.77m

£3.12m

Planning and development Gross £5.15m · Income £2.62m

£2.54m

Culture and related services Gross £1.62m · Income £151.6k

£1.46m

Housing Gross £1.35m · Income £535.0k

£811.5k

Public health Gross £137.3k · Income £62.2k

£75.0k

Highways and transport Gross £541.9k · Income £1.60m

£-1.06m

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£11.87m

Retained business rates£8.04m

Revenue Support Grant£115.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £2.00m

Closing £2.00m

£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

£300.92m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£96.99m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£203.93m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£2,144 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £2,144

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 2,152.0% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£186.0k quarterly reduction

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

Latest quarterly movement −£186.0k −0.1%

Change across the series +£142.76m 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£203.92m

Short-term borrowing£97.00m

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

£4.80m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

98.45% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£129,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£90.68m 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

£4.80m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 36.3%

+ £1.28m

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.

£4.80m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £1.48m

30.9% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £3.32m

69.1% 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 98.45%

England average: 95.60% · 2.85 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 — Uttlesford	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Uttlesford	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Uttlesford	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — Uttlesford District Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Uttlesford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Uttlesford	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Uttlesford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Uttlesford	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Uttlesford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Uttlesford	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Uttlesford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Uttlesford	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Uttlesford	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Uttlesford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Uttlesford	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.