Every year, the council is legally required to set a balanced budget. This year (2026/27) we have set a total budget of around £1.566billion.
Some services, such as schools, council housing, planning and car parking receive specific income from grants or from charging fees direct to service users.
That income adds up to £1.102billion.
This gives us a budget of £464million to deliver our day-to-day services for the 342,000 people who live in Sandwell. This is called our “net budget”.
Where does our budget come from?
- 34% comes from Council Tax,
- 36% comes from Business Rates,
- and 30% comes from non-specific government grants.
What do we spend?
For every £100 of our £464million net budget we will spend:
- £32 on children’s services and education
- £31.50 on adult social care
- £7.50 on bins and recycling
- £5.50 on highways and environmental maintenance
- £3 on culture and leisure
- £3 on public transport
- £3 on planning and economic growth
- £2 on housing support
- £1.50 on public health and community safety
- and £11 on running the council and all of its services.
At a meeting on Tuesday 24 February, councillors approved a balanced budget for the new financial year.
Find out more about the budget for 2026/27.