Going deeper
Public spending: councils and government
Every link below goes to the official publisher. Spending is published per council, not per town — search a town and you'll land on the council that covers it.
Find a council
- Birmingham City CouncilWest Midlands · England
- Manchester City CouncilNorth West · England
- Leeds City CouncilYorkshire and The Humber · England
- Liverpool City CouncilNorth West · England
- Bristol City CouncilSouth West · England
- Sheffield City CouncilYorkshire and The Humber · England
- Newcastle upon Tyne City CouncilNorth East · England
- Nottingham City CouncilEast Midlands · England
- Greater London AuthorityLondon · England
- Glasgow City CouncilScotland · Scotland
- City of Edinburgh CouncilScotland · Scotland
- Aberdeen City CouncilScotland · Scotland
- Cardiff CouncilWales · Wales
- Swansea CouncilWales · Wales
- Belfast City CouncilNorthern Ireland · Northern Ireland
Not listed yet? Find any UK council on GOV.UK — all councils' figures are in the national returns below.
Government spending by type
- HealthNHS and other health services.
- Social protectionPensions, benefits, and social care support.
- EducationSchools, colleges, universities and training.
- DefenceArmed forces and military equipment.
- Public order and safetyPolice, courts, prisons and fire services.
- Debt interestInterest paid on government borrowing.
- Economic affairsBusiness support, employment, science and agriculture.
- TransportRoads, railways and local transport.
- Housing and community amenitiesHousing, street lighting and water supply.
- Environment protectionWaste, pollution and nature protection.
- Recreation, culture and religionSport, libraries, museums and broadcasting.
- General public servicesRunning government, tax collection and international services including aid.
Council spending by type
- Adult social careCare homes, home care and support for adults.
- Children's social careChildren in care, fostering and child protection.
- Public healthSexual health, drug and alcohol services, health checks.
- Highways and transportLocal roads, potholes, parking, buses and concessionary fares.
- Housing servicesHomelessness, temporary accommodation and housing benefit administration.
- Environmental and regulatory (incl. bins)Waste collection and disposal, street cleaning, trading standards.
- Planning and developmentPlanning applications, building control and economic development.
- Cultural and related servicesLibraries, leisure centres, parks and museums.
- Central servicesRunning the council, elections, council tax collection.
- Police and firePolice and fire authority spending recorded in local returns.
- Capital spendingBuildings, roads and long-term assets.
- Individual payments over £500Each English council's own list of payments, published under the Transparency Code.
UK-wide official sources
Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA)
All UK government spending by function (health, education, defence, etc.) and by department.
- Publisher
- HM Treasury
- Covers
- UK
- Released
- Annual (July), with a spring update
Country and Regional Analysis
Public spending per nation and English region, by function, including per person.
- Publisher
- HM Treasury
- Covers
- UK
- Released
- Annual (November)
Whole of Government Accounts
Audited accounts for over 10,000 UK public bodies combined.
- Publisher
- HM Treasury
- Covers
- UK
- Released
- Annual
Departmental spending over £25,000
Individual payments over £25,000 by central government departments.
- Publisher
- UK government departments
- Covers
- UK
- Released
- Monthly per department
Council returns by nation
Each nation uses its own categories, so they are shown separately and never added together.
Local authority revenue expenditure and financing
Every English council's day-to-day spending by service (budgets and outturn).
- Publisher
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Covers
- England
- Released
- Annual (budget in summer, outturn in autumn)
Local authority capital expenditure, receipts and financing
English councils' spending on buildings, roads and other long-term assets.
- Publisher
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Covers
- England
- Released
- Quarterly and annual
Local Government Transparency Code 2015
Requires English councils to publish every payment over £500, contracts and senior pay.
- Publisher
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Covers
- England
- Released
- Payments published at least quarterly by each council
Local government finance statistics (Local Financial Returns)
Every Scottish council's spending by service.
- Publisher
- Scottish Government
- Covers
- Scotland
- Released
- Annual
Local authority revenue and capital outturn expenditure
Every Welsh council's revenue and capital spending by service.
- Publisher
- Welsh Government
- Covers
- Wales
- Released
- Annual
Local government (district councils)
Finance and accounts directions for Northern Ireland's 11 district councils.
- Publisher
- Department for Communities (NI)
- Covers
- Northern Ireland
- Released
- Annual
Northern Ireland Audit Office
Audited reports on NI councils and public bodies.
- Publisher
- Northern Ireland Audit Office
- Covers
- Northern Ireland
- Released
- Ongoing
Can't find a figure? Ask for it
Anyone can ask a council or government body for information it holds under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (in Scotland, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002). They normally have 20 working days to reply. Answers are not official statistics, so we link to them but never show them as figures.
- How to make an FOI request (GOV.UK)
- Your rights (Information Commissioner's Office)
- Scottish Information Commissioner
- Find any council (GOV.UK)
Links checked 05 Nov 2026