Council funding · South Holland · district council · 2017–18 to 2025–26

South Holland: where the money comes from and where it goes

From the council’s own returns to government. Figures are revenue only, in cash and in 2025–26 prices, and cover 2017–18 to 2025–26.

Evidence last reviewed 3 November 2026

Compare with other councils

Money for running services, 2025–26: £19.7m; £195 a person
Change a person since 2017–18, real terms: +11%; Median for district councils: +6%
Share of income from government grants: 25%; £5.3m in grants
Share of income from council tax: 39%; £8.1m

Where the money comes from

Where does South Holland's money for services come from?

South Holland's money for running services rose 11% a person in real terms from 2017–18 to 2025–26

Revenue funding by source, £ million in 2025–26 prices. Excludes housing benefit passed on to claimants, capital spending and council homes.

South Holland (district council, E07000140) · 2017–18 to 2025–26

These are the council’s own returns. A rise in real terms does not by itself mean more money for the same services: the GDP deflator is a whole-economy price measure, care and other costs can rise faster, and new grants can come with new duties. The years before 2017–18 are not in this data set; England-wide figures for 2010–11 onwards are on the main council funding page.

South Holland (district council, E07000140) · 2017–18 to 2025–26 · Outturn; 2025–26 is the first release and may be revised

Show the workings

Geography:: South Holland (district council, E07000140)
Measure:: £ million, 2025–26 prices (GDP deflator)
Period:: 2017–18 to 2025–26
Status:: Outturn; 2025–26 is the first release and may be revised
Calculation:: Rebuilt from the council’s Revenue Outturn financing lines; real terms = cash × 100 ÷ GDP deflator (2025–26 = 100). Central government grants = Revenue Support Grant, grants inside Aggregate External Finance (including schools, social care and public health grants) and one-off Covid support.
Compare with:: £195 a person in 2025–26, against a median of £188 for 165 district councils.
Not included / breaks:: Revenue only. Councils of different types have different duties, so compare like with like. Education funding falls as schools become academies.

Source: MHCLG, Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: Revenue Outturn multi-year data set (September 2026 edition, v4), RS financing lines 800 to 890; service lines 190 to 698 (released September 2026).

View the data as a table

Source (£ thousand, cash)	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	2023–24	2024–25	2025–26
Council tax	5,350	5,642	5,946	6,241	6,480	6,822	7,202	7,644	8,072
Business rates kept locally	3,093	6,754	5,079	1,869	3,247	2,225	7,089	7,344	7,368
Revenue Support Grant	1,072	-0	271	275	277	286	424	452	491
Other government grants (including schools, social care and public health)	1,847	1,368	1,500	1,733	1,646	2,360	2,982	4,650	4,759
Grants passed on (mainly housing benefit)	17,165	15,688	13,548	12,394	11,566	11,006	10,932	10,787	8,713
One-off Covid support	-0	-0	1,325	9,113	1,409	-0	-0	-0	-0
Reserves used (+) or added to (−)	724	-1,084	748	-3,403	1,258	5,076	466	-2,650	-1,057
Other items	65	98	31	60	-110	45	41	51	38
Money for running services (total less money passed on)	12,151	12,778	14,900	15,888	14,207	16,814	18,204	17,491	19,671
Population (mid-year)	92,587	92,964	93,467	94,029	95,490	97,274	98,533	99,638	100,758

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Not included above: £8.7m of grants passed on in 2025–26, mainly housing benefit paid to claimants. It has been falling as claimants move to Universal Credit, which the Department for Work and Pensions pays directly. That is a change in who pays, not a cut to council services.

Where the money goes, 2025–26

Spending on each service after income from fees, charges and grants for that service, £ million, cash. Total £18.7m.

Environment and waste£8.6m
Highways and transport£-0.1m
Public health£0.2m
Housing (not council homes)£0.5m
Planning and development£2.3m
Culture and leisure£2.0m
Central services£5.3m

What changed, service by service

Net spending in 2017–18 and 2025–26, with the change in 2025–26 prices. Biggest falls first. A fall in net spending can mean a cut, or more income from charges or service grants; a rise can mean more demand or higher costs, not a better service.

South Holland: change in net service spending, 2017–18 to 2025–26
Service	2017–18 (cash)	2025–26 (cash)	Real change
Highways and transport	£-0.0m	£-0.1m	−£0.1m
Culture and leisure	£1.5m	£2.0m	−£0.0m (−0%)
Public health	£0.0m	£0.2m	+£0.2m
Housing (not council homes)	£0.2m	£0.5m	+£0.2m (+81%)
Environment and waste	£5.9m	£8.6m	+£0.8m (+10%)
Central services	£3.0m	£5.3m	+£1.3m (+33%)
Planning and development	£0.6m	£2.3m	+£1.5m (+187%)

What each funding source means

Council tax: Council tax requirement (RS line 890): what the council raised from council tax for its own budget, including any parish precepts it collects.
Business rates kept locally: Business rates kept by the council under the rates retention scheme (RS line 870), after tariffs, top-ups and the central share.
Revenue Support Grant: Revenue Support Grant (RS line 851): the general grant from central government. Some councils received none in some years.
Other government grants (including schools, social care and public health): Specific and special grants inside Aggregate External Finance, Local Services Support Grant and police grant (RS lines 803, 804, 856). Includes the Dedicated Schools Grant for maintained schools, social care grants and public health grant.
Grants passed on (mainly housing benefit): Specific and special grants outside Aggregate External Finance (RS line 791), mainly housing benefit subsidy paid through councils.
One-off Covid support: Covid-19 emergency funding, income compensation and related one-off grants (RS lines 852 to 874), 2019-20 to 2021-22 only.
Reserves used (+) or added to (−): Money drawn from (+) or added to (−) reserves (RS lines 811 to 816).
Other items: Remaining financing lines (transfers on reorganisation, investment income, collection-fund adjustments and other items), so the parts add up to the total.

Source: MHCLG, Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: Revenue Outturn multi-year data set (September 2026 edition, v4), retrieved 2026-11-03. Method and limits.