Local Government Expenditure And Income In 2022-23

5th March 2024

The Chief Statistician has released figures on local government finance in 2022-23. These figures provide a comprehensive overview of the financial activity of local government, including revenue expenditure and income; capital expenditure and financing; reserves; debt; and pensions.

Revenue expenditure is the cost of delivering services each year. Local authorities net revenue expenditure in 2022-23 was £12,951 million. Education and Social Work were the services with highest net revenue expenditure, accounting for £6,472 million and £4,291 million respectively.

Capital expenditure is expenditure that creates the buildings and infrastructure necessary to provide services, such as schools and roads. Local authorities incurred £3,786 million of capital expenditure in 2022-23. This was predominantly financed by grants and contributions of £1,617 million and borrowing of £1,533 million.

Usable reserves are local authorities' surplus income from previous years which can be used to finance future revenue or capital expenditure. At 31 March 2023, local authorities held £4,532 million of usable reserves.

When local authorities borrow money or use credit arrangements to finance capital expenditure, a debt is created which has to be repaid from future revenues. In 2022-23, local authorities made debt repayments of £53 million and at 31 March 2023 they had a total debt of £21,801 million.