Local authority revenue and capital outturn expenditure: April 2023 to March 2024 (headline results)
Includes data for police, fire and national park authorities for April 2023 to March 2024.
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Revenue
In 2023-24, total revenue expenditure by Welsh local authorities increased by 6.5% to £10.7 billion. Revenue expenditure per head was £3,366 or £147 higher than the previous year.
Prior to the 2008-09 recession and the subsequent austerity measures, annual increases of 5% or 6% were regularly reported. Since 2010-11 only five years have seen growth exceeding 2%, four of which have been in the last four years.
Over time, statutory services such as education and social services have been protected (with social services having seen the biggest increase in expenditure) but other services such as libraries, roads and transport and planning have seen overall reductions since 2010-11. Education and social services now account for 68% of overall unitary authority expenditure compared with 59% in 2010-11 and 60% in 1999-2000.
Capital
Capital expenditure increased by 21.8% in 2023-24 to £1,914 million or £605 per head of population. This represents an increase of £343 million over the previous year.
In general, capital expenditure is more volatile and can be impacted heavily by large investments or adjustments. Expenditure increased in 2023-24 partly due to increases in education and housing.
Most of this capital expenditure was spent by unitary authorities, with police, fire and national park authorities reporting expenditure of £47 million, £18 million and £4 million respectively.
