East of England · Non-metropolitan district

Watford

2026/27 view

Watford · ONS E07000103

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

34/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Significant pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 122 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover20

Debt burden52

Liquidity60

Debt direction0

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

Net debt £9.89m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

+£9.32m 1,617.2%

Service expenditure £27.60m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£808.0k 2.8%

Unallocated reserves £2.00m 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 £27.60m

14.1%

Net revenue expenditure £21.71m

71.9%

Council Tax requirement £10.64m

16.2%

Unallocated reserves £2.00m

0.0%

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 population107,1712024 estimate

Latest net debt£9.89m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

48.4%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

1.2 percentage points vs 2023/24

47 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste370.5 kgper household−2.8 kg year on year

Waste collected290.1 kgper resident−12.7 kg year on year

Household waste31,096tonnes collected15,036 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

15,036 t recycled, composted or reused 16,061 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

48.4%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Watford.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

42 Open schools

15,323 Pupils

17,076 School places

89.7% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Watford.

Attainment 8

51.7

East of England 46.2

England 46.1

5.6 points above England

English & maths grade 5+

54.1%

East of England 45.9%

England 45.4%

8.7 percentage points above England

EBacc entry

65.3%

East of England 40.0%

England 40.5%

24.8 percentage points above England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

0.16

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

51.1 18/19

54.2 19/20

54.8 20/21

53.5 21/22

51.5 22/23

50.0 23/24

51.7 24/25

Education context

Watford'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 Watford, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£425,000

+ 12.4% over five years

Median resident earnings

£43,219

+ 24.3% over five years

House price to earnings

9.83×

Improved from 10.87× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Watford.

£1,823 / month

+ 3.4% in the last year

July 2026

Watford

£1,823

+ 3.4%

East of England

£1,285

+ 3.7%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East of England £538 more per month

Compared with England £372 more per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Watford

9.83×

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 received136this quarter+19 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided116this quarter−18 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

75.0%approved

Overall approval rate87 granted29 refused−10.8 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

94.8%

Rank 106 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

4.5 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major4100.0%100.0% Minor3167.7%87.1% Other8176.5%97.5%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

95%

Required2,349homes over three years

Delivered2,222homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 9,296 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 86.7 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change + 4.5% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

Watford Your council

86.7 + 4.5%

East of England Region

68.4 − 0.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

Watford has a recorded crime rate 26.7% above East of England. It is 3.9% above the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Hertfordshire

Violence 3,593

33.5 per 1,000 + 18.2%

Theft 3,160

29.5 per 1,000 − 9.2%

Public order 677

6.3 per 1,000 + 10.6%

Criminal damage 731

6.8 per 1,000 + 5.2%

Shoplifting 940

8.8 per 1,000 − 9.9%

Vehicle offences 612

5.7 per 1,000 − 20.8%

Burglary 292

2.7 per 1,000 − 26.3%

Drug offences 410

3.8 per 1,000 + 54.1%

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 Watford.

42 schools

Open schools 42

Pupils 15,323

School places 17,076

Capacity used 89.7%

Primary 30 schools

9,459 pupils

Other / specialist 5 schools

296 pupils

Secondary 4 schools

5,408 pupils

Nursery 2 schools

160 pupils

16+ provision 1 school

0 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 5

11.9% of open schools

Previous full framework 22

52.4% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 11

26.2% of open schools

No Ofsted record 4

9.5% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

5 schools assessed

Achievement 5 assessed

Expected standard 4

Exceptional 1

Attendance & behaviour 5 assessed

Strong standard 3

Expected standard 1

Needs attention 1

Curriculum & teaching 5 assessed

Expected standard 4

Exceptional 1

Inclusion 5 assessed

Strong standard 3

Exceptional 1

Expected standard 1

Leadership & governance 5 assessed

Expected standard 4

Exceptional 1

Personal development 5 assessed

Strong standard 3

Exceptional 1

Expected standard 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 3

Good 12

Requires improvement 1

Not judged 6

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Alban Wood Primary School and Nursery URN 144907 · WD25 7NX	Primary	238	243	Good
Ascot Road Primary School URN 140956 · WD18 8AD	Primary	391	420	Good
Beechfield School URN 145350 · WD24 5TY	Primary	444	420	Good
Bromet Primary School URN 144908 · WD19 4SG	Primary	270	280	Renewed framework
Bushey and Oxhey Infant School URN 117157 · WD23 2QH	Primary	176	180	Good
Cassiobury Infant and Nursery School URN 117293 · WD17 3PE	Primary	310	310	Good
Cassiobury Junior School URN 117167 · WD17 3PD	Primary	359	360	Good
Central Primary School URN 117156 · WD17 2LX	Primary	399	450	Renewed framework

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 107,171 2024

East of England region 6,576,306

Five-year population change

+4,999 residents ↑ 4.9%

Watford +4.9%

East of England +4.8%

England +4.3%

Growth context

Watford's population grew over five years. Its change was broadly in line with the East of England and 0.6 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 Watford?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 12,619 11.8% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +5.4% +644 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.7% +90 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

Watford LOCAL AUTHORITY

11.8%

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

12,619 11,514 10,408

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

£27.60m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£21.71m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£10.64m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£2.00m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £258

Median for councils of the same type £166 55.6% above peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Central services Gross £16.11m · Income £6.13m

£9.99m

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £10.71m · Income £3.15m

£7.56m

Culture and related services Gross £5.67m · Income £1.56m

£4.11m

Housing Gross £6.91m · Income £2.87m

£4.05m

Planning and development Gross £3.86m · Income £2.65m

£1.20m

Highways and transport Gross £4.10m · Income £3.41m

£689.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£10.64m

Revenue Support Grant£107.0k

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

£36.25m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£26.36m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£9.89m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£92 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £92

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 3.1% lower than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£9.32m quarterly increase

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

Latest quarterly movement +£9.32m +1,617.2%

Change across the series +£112.18m 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£26.50m

Short-term borrowing£9.75m

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

£13.42m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

95.54% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£747,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£81.08m 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

£13.42m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 78.8%

+ £5.91m

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.

£13.42m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £4.05m

30.2% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £9.37m

69.8% 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 95.54%

England average: 95.60% · 0.06 percentage points below 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 — Watford	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Watford	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Watford	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — Watford Borough Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Watford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Watford	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Watford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Watford	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Watford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Watford	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Watford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Watford	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Watford	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Watford	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Watford	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.