East of England · Non-metropolitan district

Welwyn Hatfield

2026/27 view

Welwyn Hatfield · ONS E07000241

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

38/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 113 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover80

Debt burden6

Liquidity17

Debt direction31

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

Net debt £251.91m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

+£1.73m 0.7%

Service expenditure £19.09m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£2.28m 13.5%

Unallocated reserves £8.07m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£1.29m 19.1%

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 £19.09m

12.4%

Net revenue expenditure £15.86m

26.8%

Council Tax requirement £12.64m

16.5%

Unallocated reserves £8.07m

16.9%

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 population122,8192024 estimate

Latest net debt£251.91m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

47.8%recycled

Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

0.1 percentage points vs 2023/24

55 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste395.9 kgper household+3.9 kg year on year

Waste collected313.4 kgper resident+1.6 kg year on year

Household waste38,521tonnes collected18,411 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

18,411 t recycled, composted or reused 20,110 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

47.8%

2012/132024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Welwyn Hatfield.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

54 Open schools

17,978 Pupils

19,582 School places

91.8% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Welwyn Hatfield.

Attainment 8

46.3

East of England 46.2

England 46.1

0.2 points above England

English & maths grade 5+

45.4%

East of England 45.9%

England 45.4%

In line with England

EBacc entry

48.3%

East of England 40.0%

England 40.5%

7.8 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

49.5 18/19

52.4 19/20

52.9 20/21

50.1 21/22

49.1 22/23

48.4 23/24

46.3 24/25

Education context

Welwyn Hatfield's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with East of England and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency

HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025

Median house price

£440,000

+ 15.8% over five years

Median resident earnings

£45,145

+ 32.0% over five years

House price to earnings

9.75×

Improved from 11.11× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Welwyn Hatfield.

£1,509 / month

+ 3.7% in the last year

July 2026

Welwyn Hatfield

£1,509

+ 3.7%

East of England

£1,285

+ 3.7%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East of England £224 more per month

Compared with England £58 more per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Welwyn Hatfield

9.75×

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 received168this quarter−27 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided144this quarter−4 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

84.0%approved

Overall approval rate121 granted23 refused−3.1 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

92.4%

Rank 151 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

1.6 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major250.0%100.0% Minor1883.3%88.9% Other12484.7%92.7%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

46%

Required2,291homes over three years

Delivered1,058homes over three years

100% requirement

Presumption in favourHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Welwyn Hatfield, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 9,546 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 77.7 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change + 3.9% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

Welwyn Hatfield Your council

77.7 + 3.9%

East of England Region

68.4 − 0.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

Welwyn Hatfield has a recorded crime rate 13.6% above East of England. It is 6.9% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Hertfordshire

Violence 3,753

30.6 per 1,000 + 4.6%

Theft 3,224

26.3 per 1,000 + 1.2%

Public order 602

4.9 per 1,000 + 3.6%

Criminal damage 738

6.0 per 1,000 − 2.9%

Shoplifting 1,062

8.6 per 1,000 − 3.4%

Vehicle offences 647

5.3 per 1,000 + 2.9%

Burglary 455

3.7 per 1,000 + 8.1%

Drug offences 366

3.0 per 1,000 + 33.6%

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 Welwyn Hatfield.

54 schools

Open schools 54

Pupils 17,978

School places 19,582

Capacity used 91.8%

Primary 36 schools

9,713 pupils

Other / specialist 9 schools

1,272 pupils

Secondary 6 schools

6,572 pupils

Nursery 3 schools

421 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 4

7.4% of open schools

Previous full framework 23

42.6% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 23

42.6% of open schools

No Ofsted record 4

7.4% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

4 schools assessed

Achievement 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 1

Attendance & behaviour 4 assessed

Expected standard 2

Strong standard 2

Curriculum & teaching 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 1

Inclusion 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 1

Leadership & governance 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 1

Personal development 4 assessed

Expected standard 2

Strong standard 2

Safeguarding 4 assessed

Met 4

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 13

Requires improvement 1

Not judged 7

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Applecroft School URN 137943 · AL8 6JZ	Primary	454	450	Good
Birchwood Avenue Primary School URN 132105 · AL10 0PS	Primary	202	210	Good
Brookmans Park Primary School URN 117570 · AL9 7QY	Primary	345	345	Ungraded inspection
Commonswood Primary & Nursery School URN 117378 · AL7 4RU	Primary	410	510	Good
Countess Anne Church of England School URN 140238 · AL10 8AX	Primary	209	210	Outstanding
Creswick Academy URN 150698 · AL7 4FL	Primary	325	459	Requires improvement
Cuffley School URN 117565 · EN6 4HN	Primary	449	460	Ungraded inspection
De Havilland Primary School URN 148040 · AL10 8TQ	Primary	425	450	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 122,819 2024

East of England region 6,576,306

Five-year population change

+3,639 residents ↑ 3.1%

Welwyn Hatfield +3.1%

East of England +4.8%

England +4.3%

Growth context

Welwyn Hatfield's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.8 percentage points below the East of England and 1.2 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 Welwyn Hatfield?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 12,564 10.2% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +6.8% +798 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.9% +114 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

Welwyn Hatfield LOCAL AUTHORITY

10.2%

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

12,564 11,449 10,334

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

£19.09m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£15.86m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£12.64m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£8.07m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £155

Median for councils of the same type £166 6.1% below peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £10.68m · Income £3.02m

£7.67m

Central services Gross £20.34m · Income £15.80m

£4.54m

Housing Gross £5.41m · Income £1.41m

£4.00m

Culture and related services Gross £6.99m · Income £3.69m

£3.31m

Planning and development Gross £6.09m · Income £6.24m

£-152.0k

Highways and transport Gross £2.00m · Income £2.28m

£-277.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£12.64m

Retained business rates£3.66m

Revenue Support Grant£151.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £6.77m

Closing £8.07m

£1.29m 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

£286.40m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£34.48m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£251.91m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£2,051 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £2,051

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 2,054.1% higher than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£1.73m quarterly increase

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

Latest quarterly movement +£1.73m +0.7%

Change across the series +£39.93m 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£276.40m

Short-term borrowing£10.00m

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

£14.83m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

97.24% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£7,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£100.64m 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

£14.83m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 39.5%

+ £4.20m

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.

£14.83m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £4.90m

33.0% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £9.93m

67.0% 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 97.24%

England average: 95.60% · 1.64 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 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — Welwyn Hatfield Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Welwyn Hatfield	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Welwyn Hatfield	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.