Our budget
2023 to 2024 budget
The administration’s final draft budget was considered and approved by full County Council on 9 February 2023. The budget includes:
- the revenue budget (day to day expenditure) for 2023 to 2024
- the 2023 to 2026 medium term financial plan
- the 10 year capital programme (covering larger scale investments in buildings and roads) for 2023 to 2033.
Read the 2023 to 2024 budget report and appendices
The variation statements provide details of the significant changes between 2022 to 2023 approved revenue budgets and 2023 to 2024 final draft revenue budgets by directorate, division and key service.
Read the variation statements for the 2023 to 2024 approved budget
Read about how our budget is approved.
Your views
While we were developing these plans for 2023 to 2024 we asked for your:
- views on our Council Tax proposals
- ideas for how we might make further savings.
Our consultation report containing your feedback is now available on the consultation webpage.
2022 to 2023 budget
Kent County Council approved its 2022 to 2023 revenue budget, 2022 to 2025 medium term financial plan and 2022 to 2032 capital budget at a full council meeting on 10 February 2022. Details of these can be found in our:
- Budget book (PDF, 1.4 MB) - including the 2022 to 2032 capital investment plans by directorate and the 2022 to 2023 revenue budget by directorate and key service presentation
- The Variation Statement (XLSX, 1.4 MB) shows the movement in budget between the approved budget for 2021-22 and the final approved budget for 2022-23.
2022 to 2023 revenue budget
How we spend our annual revenue budget
We provide a huge range of essential services to Kent residents, spending over £1.8 billion (excluding schools) each year.
For every £100 we spend, this is how it is split between the various services we provide:
| Service | Total spend (per £100) |
|---|---|
| Adults and older people | £35 |
| Children's social care | £12 |
| Children's other services | £9 |
| Borrowing costs | £8 |
| Management, support services and overheads | £7 |
| Transport services | £5 |
| Schools and high needs | £5 |
| Waste services | £5 |
| Public health | £4 |
| Highways | £3 |
| Other direct services to the public | £2 |
| Community services | £2 |
| Costs of running our operational premises | £2 |
| Schools’ services | £1 |
How our annual revenue budget is funded
Funding for our revenue budget comes from many sources. Nearly half of our total annual expenditure budget (excluding schools) is funded from money we receive from Council Tax.
Each year we set a budget to decide how much we're able to spend on services for Kent residents and businesses for the next financial year, compared to how much income we're likely to get from government and local taxation (Council Tax and business rates) to fund this.
For every £100 in funding we receive, this is how it is split between the different sources of income:
| Funding source | Amount (per £100) |
|---|---|
| Council Tax (including associated COVID-19 compensation) | £46 |
| Grants (ringfenced for a specific purpose) | £19 |
| Grants (un-ringfenced) | £16 |
| Income from service users | £16 |
| Business rates | £3 |
2022 to 2032 capital budget
How we spend our capital budget
The capital budget for 2022 to 2032 is £1,702 million (just over £1.7 billion). The diagram below summarises what this is spent on:
| Service | Amount in £million |
|---|---|
| Highways, structures and waste enhancement | £609 |
| Other highway and transport improvements | £547 |
| Other school projects | £213 |
| Additional school places | £143 |
| Modernisation and improved utilisation of council premises | £128 |
| Economic development initiatives | £39 |
| Community projects | £17 |
| Adults, social care and health | £6 |
How our capital budget is funded
Funding for our capital budget comes from many sources. Over half comes from grant funding and around 20% is borrowed. The following diagram shows how the capital budget is funded:
| Service | Amount in £million |
|---|---|
| Grants | £997 |
| Borrowing | £424 |
| Developer contributions | £105 |
| Revenue contributions | £93 |
| Recycling of loan repayments | £40 |
| Capital receipts | £26 |
| Other external funding | £17 |