How we spend council tax
We spend 9% of the council tax we collect to provide good local services.
We pass the rest (91%) of the council tax you pay to partners, including the county council, police, fire and parish councils.
Services we deliver locally include waste, recycling and street cleansing, leisure centres, maintenance of parks and open spaces, planning and building control, maintenance and provision of car parks, maintenance and provision of public toilets, collection of council tax and provision of benefits, housing and homelessness support, tourism and business support, community safety, CCTV, food safety inspections, environmental health, licensing and more.
Download our guide to which council provides what services locally.
Our budgeted funding and expenditure is set out below in line with our strategic plan priorities.
| Direct net expenditure and funding | Last year (2025-2026) £000 | This year (2026-2027) £000 | Amount per person £ | Amount per Band D property £ |
| Active communities - leisure centres and new leisure activities | (£0)* | (£119) | (£1.06)* | (£2.81)* |
| Green communities - waste collection, recycling, open spaces, street cleansing, pools | £4,661 | £6,254 | £55.87 | £148.44 |
| Prosperous communities - tourism, car parks, major projects | (£397) | (£201) | (£1.79) | (£4.76) |
| Confident communities - housing benefits, environmental health, building control, planning, housing, Lichfield Garrick | £2,087 | £2,524 | £22.55 | £59.91 |
| Internal services - local tax collection, elections, corporate costs | £9,598 | £8,440 | £75.40 | £200.31 |
| Other - windfall income allocated to strategic priorities | £1,037 | £385 | £3.44 | £9.14 |
| Net cost of services | £16,986 | £17,284 | £154.41 | £410.23 |
| Corporate and funding for capital expenditure | (£1,231) | (£1,137) | (£10.16) | (£26.98) |
| Transfer to general reserves | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Net expenditure | £15,755 | £16,147 | £144.26 | £383.24 |
| Business rates | (£3,726) | (£2,395) | (£21.40) | (£56.84) |
| New Homes Bonus | (£677) | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Other grants | (£1,588) | (£4,790) | (£42.79) | (£113.69) |
| (Surplus) or deficit on the collection of council tax and business rates from the previous year | (£1,549) | (£460) | (£4.11) | (£10.92) |
| Amount to be raised from council tax | £8,215 | £8,502 | £75.96 | £201.79 |
*We spend money in the active communities strategic priority however in 2025-2026, this expenditure was fully offset by income from service users.
