Our budget
Every year we set a budget to determine how much money will be spent on services.
We need to manage the challenge of significant spending demands and cost increases within the funding available, which mainly comes from Council Tax and the government. This requires tough choices about priorities for the future.
Your views
While we were developing the plans for the 2025 to 2026 budget, we asked for your views on:
- our Council Tax proposals
- how comfortable you would be with reductions in spending across our different service areas
- your suggestions for how to make further savings and increase income.
Our consultation report containing your feedback is now available on our consultation website.
2025 to 2026 budget
Kent County Council approved its 2025 to 2025 revenue budget, 2025 to 2027 medium term financial plan and 2025 to 2035 capital budget at a full council meeting on 13 February 2025. Details of these can be found in our:
- Budget book (PDF, 5.4 MB) - including the 2025 to 2035 capital investment plans by directorate and the 2025 to 2026 revenue budget by directorate and key service presentation
- variation statements (XLSX, 7.6 MB) show the movement in budget between the approved budget for 2024 to 2025 and the final approved budget for 2025 to 2026.
- interactive dashboards which show the spending growth, savings and reserve changes in each financial year of the 2025 to 2028 Medium Term Financial Plan. 2025 to 2026 reflects the approved budget, and 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028 is for planning purposes.
2025 to 2026 revenue budget
How we spend our annual revenue budget
We provide a huge range of essential services to Kent residents, spending over £2.6 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 | £13 |
| Children's other services | £12 |
| Transport services | £6 |
| Management, support services and overheads | £6 |
| Schools and high needs | £6 |
| Borrowing costs, contributions to/from reserves and other corporate costs | £6 |
| Waste services | £4 |
| Public health | £4 |
| Highways | £2 |
| Community services | £2 |
| Other direct services to the public | £2 |
| Costs of running our operational premises | £1 |
| Schools’ services | £1 |
How our annual revenue budget is funded
Funding for our revenue budget comes from many sources. 39% 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 | £39 |
| Grants (ringfenced for a specific purpose) | £34 |
| Income from service users | £15 |
| Grants (unringfenced) | £9 |
| Business rates | £3 |
2025 to 2035 capital budget
How we spend our capital budget
The capital budget for 2025 to 2035 is £1,419 million (over £1.4 billion). The summary below shows what this is spent on:
| Service | Amount in £million |
|---|---|
| Highways, structures and waste enhancement | £628 |
| Other highway and transport improvements | £231 |
| Other school projects | £213 |
| Additional school places | £190 |
| Modernisation and improved utilisation of council premises | £101 |
| Economic development initiatives | £40 |
| Community projects | £13 |
| Adults, social care and health | £3 |
How our capital budget is funded
Funding for our capital budget comes from many sources. Over 50% comes from grant funding and around 26% is borrowed. The following diagram shows how the capital budget is funded:
| Service | Amount in £million |
|---|---|
| Grants | £766 |
| Borrowing | £366 |
| Developer contributions | £139 |
| Revenue contributions | £69 |
| Recycling of loan repayments | £39 |
| Capital receipts | £26 |
| Other external funding | £14 |
(Figures subject to rounding)