West Midlands · Non-metropolitan district

Worcester

2026/27 view

Worcester · ONS E07000237

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

52/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Mixed

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 76 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover28

Debt burden56

Liquidity63

Debt direction85

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

Net debt £3.71m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

−£1.20m 24.4%

Service expenditure £16.97m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£1.35m 8.7%

Unallocated reserves £1.41m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

−£673.0k 32.4%

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 £16.97m

2.0%

Net revenue expenditure £11.39m

22.4%

Council Tax requirement £7.19m

14.1%

Unallocated reserves £1.41m

25.3%

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 population106,6712024 estimate

Latest net debt£3.71m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25

34.9%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

1.2 percentage points vs 2023/24

147 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste432.4 kgper household+4.5 kg year on year

Waste collected297.4 kgper resident−5.8 kg year on year

Household waste31,750tonnes collected11,081 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

11,081 t recycled, composted or reused 20,668 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

34.9%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Worcester.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

39 Open schools

17,610 Pupils

21,861 School places

80.6% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Worcester.

Attainment 8

45.2

West Midlands 44.6

England 46.1

0.9 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

43.4%

West Midlands 41.7%

England 45.4%

2.0 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

35.9%

West Midlands 37.9%

England 40.5%

4.6 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.01

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

46.4 18/19

51.4 19/20

51.2 20/21

49.8 21/22

46.0 22/23

46.5 23/24

45.2 24/25

Education context

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

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency

HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

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

2025

Median house price

£260,000

+ 23.8% over five years

Median resident earnings

£38,880

+ 40.9% over five years

House price to earnings

6.69×

Improved from 7.61× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Worcester.

£974 / month

+ 4.8% in the last year

July 2026

Worcester

£974

+ 4.8%

West Midlands

£974

+ 4.5%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with West Midlands Broadly the same

Compared with England £477 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Worcester

6.69×

West Midlands

6.80×

England

7.64×

Compared with West Midlands More affordable

Compared with England More 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 received100this quarter−5 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided93this quarter−17 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

92.5%approved

Overall approval rate86 granted7 refused+8.8 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

98.9%

Rank 26 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

2.6 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major0—— Minor2176.2%100.0% Other7297.2%98.6%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

88%

Required1,053homes over three years

Delivered928homes over three years

100% requirement

Action planHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

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

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 20,860 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 63.6 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change + 1.5% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

Worcester Your council

63.6 + 1.5%

West Midlands Region

82.2 − 1.2%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

Worcester has a recorded crime rate 22.7% below West Midlands. It is 23.8% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

West Mercia

Violence 8,245

25.1 per 1,000 + 6.7%

Theft 6,652

20.3 per 1,000 − 3.4%

Public order 1,628

5.0 per 1,000 − 4.5%

Criminal damage 1,960

6.0 per 1,000 + 0.2%

Shoplifting 2,619

8.0 per 1,000 − 2.1%

Vehicle offences 904

2.8 per 1,000 − 28.5%

Burglary 1,176

3.6 per 1,000 + 16.4%

Drug offences 463

1.4 per 1,000 + 0.2%

Crime figures cover the South Worcester Community Safety Partnership, including Malvern Hills, Worcester, Wychavon.

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 Worcester.

39 schools

Open schools 39

Pupils 17,610

School places 21,861

Capacity used 80.6%

Primary 22 schools

7,875 pupils

Other / specialist 11 schools

3,417 pupils

Secondary 5 schools

6,318 pupils

16+ provision 1 school

0 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 5

12.8% of open schools

Previous full framework 16

41.0% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 13

33.3% of open schools

No Ofsted record 5

12.8% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

5 schools assessed

Achievement 5 assessed

Expected standard 4

Needs attention 1

Attendance & behaviour 5 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 2

Curriculum & teaching 5 assessed

Expected standard 5

Inclusion 5 assessed

Expected standard 4

Strong standard 1

Leadership & governance 5 assessed

Expected standard 4

Strong standard 1

Personal development 5 assessed

Strong standard 3

Expected standard 2

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 10

Not judged 4

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Carnforth School URN 143416 · WR4 9HG	Primary	178	210	Renewed framework
Cherry Orchard Primary School URN 148183 · WR5 2DD	Primary	565	630	Good
Cranham Primary School URN 143394 · WR4 9LS	Primary	396	420	Ungraded inspection
Hollymount School URN 140933 · WR4 9SG	Primary	377	393	Good
Honeywell Primary School URN 146667 · WR2 5QH	Primary	168	210	Good
North Worcester Primary School URN 147190 · WR3 7NS	Primary	403	420	Good
Northwick Manor Primary School URN 143396 · WR3 7EA	Primary	573	630	Outstanding
Nunnery Wood Primary School URN 145836 · WR5 1QE	Primary	390	420	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 106,671 2024

West Midlands region 6,187,204

Five-year population change

+1,534 residents ↑ 1.5%

Worcester +1.5%

West Midlands +4.5%

England +4.3%

Growth context

Worcester's population grew over five years. Its change was 3.0 percentage points below the West Midlands and 2.8 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 Worcester?

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

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 11,979 11.2% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +5.8% +654 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.8% +96 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

Worcester LOCAL AUTHORITY

11.2%

West Midlands REGION

13.9%

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

11,997 11,159 10,320

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

AIR QUALITY

How clean is the air?

Long-term particulate pollution across the council area, alongside measurements from local UK-AIR monitoring stations.

POPULATION-WEIGHTED ANNUAL MEAN

Fine particulate matter

No annual PM2.5 estimate is currently available.

LONG-TERM TREND

PM2.5 over time

Not enough annual data is available to show a trend.

CURRENT MONITORING

Latest station measurement

UK-AIR

PM2.5 6.7 µg/m³

Provisional

Last 24 hours 4.1 – 8.2 µg/m³

Worcester Tolladine Automatic Urban and Rural Monitoring Network (AURN) · Urban Background Latest measurement: 2026-09-23 01:00:00+01

This is a measurement from an individual monitoring station and should not be interpreted as the current concentration across the whole council area.

HEALTH IMPACT

Particulate air pollution

No current OHID particulate-air-pollution mortality estimate is available.

Annual PM2.5 is Defra Pollution Climate Mapping data. Monitoring readings are station-specific UK-AIR measurements and may be provisional.

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

£16.97m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£11.39m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£7.19m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£1.41m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £159

Median for councils of the same type £166 3.9% below peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Planning and development Gross £6.67m · Income £1.37m

£5.30m

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £8.94m · Income £4.19m

£4.75m

Central services Gross £11.74m · Income £8.45m

£3.30m

Housing Gross £5.05m · Income £1.86m

£3.18m

Culture and related services Gross £5.11m · Income £2.26m

£2.85m

Highways and transport Gross £2.34m · Income £4.75m

£-2.41m

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£7.19m

Retained business rates£3.56m

Revenue Support Grant£137.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £2.24m

Closing £1.41m

£831.0k decrease 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

£17.15m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£13.44m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£3.71m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£35 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £35

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 63.4% lower than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£1.20m quarterly reduction

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

Latest quarterly movement −£1.20m −24.4%

Change across the series +£460.0k 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£12.15m

Other longer-term borrowing£5.00m

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

£7.84m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

96.15% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£850,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£73.00m 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

£7.84m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 106.8%

+ £4.05m

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.

£7.84m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.85m

36.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £4.99m

63.6% 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 96.15%

England average: 95.60% · 0.55 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 — Worcester	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Worcester	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Worcester	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — Worcester City Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Worcester	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Worcester	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Worcester	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Worcester	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Worcester	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Worcester	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Worcester	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Worcester	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Worcester	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Worcester	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Worcester	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.