Council budget

Where does the council's money come from?

Each year we set a budget for the coming financial year (April to March). The budget sets out how we’ll spend our money to provide a range of services to meet the needs of our residents. This includes schools, social care, planning, public health, bin collections and road maintenance.

We call this the 'revenue budget'. It’s used to pay for the day to day running costs of delivering our services. This includes staffing, maintaining public buildings and general service running costs.

The gross revenue budget available to spend on services for 2026-2027 is £680 million. This is funded from a mixture of:

• government grants
• fees and charges (such as car parking or crematorium fees)
• commercial rents (not housing rents as this is separate)
• business rates and Council Tax

This is the amount of money available after contributions from our other income have been accounted for. Income such as council house rents, grant income received for specific purposes, client contributions and fees and charges.

Does the 2026-2027 budget balance?

Yes, the budget does balance. This is providing we:

• deliver our efficiency plans
• manage demand for services effectively
• receive government funding as expected
• remain flexible and vigilant

If we do this, we're in a relatively stable financial position for 2026 to 2027.

However, there is a great deal of financial uncertainty over the next few years and beyond.

We’re preparing as well as we can for this and the different scenarios we may face. We’ve updated our three-year financial plan taking us up to 2028-2029. However, the position beyond 2026-2027 remains extremely uncertain given the current economic position and is constantly changing. Our forecasts are based on many assumptions. We must remain vigilant, flexible and be prepared for all eventualities.

Are there any savings required in 2026-2027?

There are no savings required for 2026/27. This is because the council is able to use reserves it has saved as a one-off temporary measure. Beyond next financial year, we’re currently estimating a £23m shortfall. We are therefore working on a plan to address this shortfall and balance future year budgets.

How will the 2026-2027 budget be spent?

The budget is allocated to help us make Barnsley the place of possibilities. We want it to be a place that fosters and grows ambition across our borough. All decisions on how to spend and allocate the budget are made with our residents in mind. This makes sure the work we do makes a real difference to you and your family.

A summary list of investment proposals is provided below with a full list available in our 2026-2027 budget papers. You can also find out more in our guide to the budget and Council Tax 2026-2027.

In 2026-2027, we will spend approximately £680 million providing you and your family with a range of services. This includes an additional £23 million we are investing in our day-to-day services. The budget is split between our key service areas which are vital to you and your family.

• 32% Children's Services £215m
• 30% Growth and Sustainability £206m
• 20% Adult Social Care £134m
• 6% Public Health and Communities £43m
• 6% Core Services £43m
• 6% Corporate Budgets £39m

In addition, we spend £118 million on our council houses, which is mainly funded from housing rents.

What investments are you making this year?

Like last year, the council has agreed to continue specific investments over and above our day-to-day services. These include:

• The Great Childhoods Ambition, including support for cost of school uniforms and free bus travel for all children and young people aged 5 to 18
• Love Where You Live, to continue to improve our streets, parks and open spaces
• cost of living support including payments to those on Council Tax support, support for travel to work and providing 100% business rates relief for all eligible retail, leisure and hospitality businesses.

We're also looking to make significant capital investment including in our roads and highways network, housing, and major schemes such as The Seam, Principal Towns and Health on the High Street.

Where does money for the capital programme come from?

Capital funds are separate from our revenue budget and cannot be used to fund running costs. Capital funding can come from a number of sources, including:

• capital receipts from selling off assets
• grants to pay for specific schemes or initiatives
• borrowing, for example, a loan
• match funding/contribution from external parties
• money set aside from reserves (underspends) from the revenue budget.

Does the Council Tax increase include fire and police services?

No, it doesn’t. The 3.4% increase is just for the part of the Council Tax bill that’s paid to us for the services we deliver. We don’t pay for the police and fire service out of our budget. They set their own Council Tax precept for the services.

If you live in an area that has a parish council, you may also have to pay an additional amount. This figure is set by the parish council.

How will my Council Tax be spent?

The general Council Tax contribution helps meet the running costs of all the services we provide in the borough. This includes schools, social care, maintaining roads, waste collection and recycling, libraries and health protection. 

The government precept contribution is ring-fenced specifically to support the rising costs of adult social care. This is to support elderly and vulnerable residents. 

The Council Tax you pay each year is used to help deliver the services that you need. 
You can view the full budget details in our 2026-2027 budget papers and guide to the budget and Council Tax 2026-2027.

Why do I have to pay for services I don’t use?

Lots of the services we provide are used to benefit everyone. Without them, the borough would grind to a halt. These are services such as bin collections, maintaining roads and public health. Some services are used by fewer residents depending on personal circumstances. Including services such as adult social care, children’s social care, and special educational needs, but these services are there for everyone should they need them.

If you’re proposing to increase Council Tax, why can’t you deliver more services instead of asking us to do more for ourselves?

The cost of running existing council services is expected to increase by £23M next year. The increase in Council Tax together with the support we get from Central Government helps contribute to this increase but doesn’t cover it all. In fact, Council Tax only contributes a fifth (20%) to the total cost of providing council services. This means that even after the increase in Council Tax, we still need to use some cash reserves of £4 million next year we have saved in previous years to help meet the rising cost of the services we deliver to you, the public. Beyond next year, we estimate we will need to find at least £23 million to balance our budget.

We always work tirelessly to make our resources go further whilst also making sure we continue to provide good services to the public. We also want sustainable outcomes so we can be prepared for the further challenges we face. This is not only financially, but also in terms of the growing pressures and demands on our services. We’re trying to do more with less and focus on those areas with the biggest impact in the long run.   

How do you work out how much you pay your staff?

Our pay policy sets out the arrangements for salary and related allowances that's paid to employees. This is refreshed at the start of each financial year and will be updated once approved at full council.

It details how salary levels are decided, the method for pay progression and the payment of allowances.

You can also find details of the salaries and job titles of senior employees. This is for those whose salary is more than £50,000.