Revenue pays for running services each year; capital pays for things that last. They are separate budgets.
Share of council service spending taken by adult and children's social care. Portsmouth City Council.
Source: Portsmouth City Council budget reports · 2025/26 service budgets
Checked 23 September 2026
| Service | Per £100 | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Children, families & education | £30.33 | £77.8m |
| Adult social care, wellbeing & health | £28.98 | £74.3m |
| Central & corporate services | £15.27 | £39.2m |
| Transport | £11.08 | £28.4m |
| Environmental services (waste, streets) | £7.17 | £18.4m |
| Community safety, leisure & sport | £4.48 | £11.5m |
| Housing & tackling homelessness | £2.65 | £6.8m |
| Climate change & greening the city | £0.04 | £114,900 |
Usable general-fund reserves against the minimum the council must hold. Portsmouth City Council.
Source: Portsmouth City Council · 2026/27 forecast
Checked 23 September 2026
| Year | Balance | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | £19.8m | £7.0m |
| 2018/19 | £20.9m | £8.0m |
| 2019/20 | £20.2m | £8.0m |
| 2020/21 | £20.4m | £8.0m |
| 2021/22 | £21.3m | £8.0m |
| 2022/23 | £21.5m | £8.0m |
| 2023/24 | £21.6m | £10.0m |
| 2024/25 | £21.2m | £10.0m |
| 2025/26 | £22.1m | £10.0m |
| 2026/27 | £22.3m | £12.0m |
Source: Portsmouth City Council
| Year | Band D | Rise |
|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | £1,279.12 | 4.99% |
| 2018/19 | £1,336.61 | 4.49% |
| 2019/20 | £1,396.68 | 4.49% |
| 2020/21 | £1,452.40 | 3.99% |
| 2021/22 | £1,524.87 | 4.99% |
| 2022/23 | £1,570.46 | 2.99% |
| 2023/24 | £1,648.87 | 4.99% |
| 2024/25 | £1,731.15 | 4.99% |
| 2025/26 | £1,817.62 | 4.99% |
The Council's financial health is currently sound, but future risks remain relating to inflation volatility, accelerating cost and demand for Care Services, SEND and Homelessness as well as the uncertainty arising from Local Government Reorganisation.
| Year | Opinion | Weakness reported |
|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Unqualified | None |
| 2022/23 | Disclaimed | None reported |
| 2023/24 | Disclaimed | None |
| 2024/25 | Qualified | One — governance |
Auditor: Ernst & Young LLP
Almost 60p in every £1 of service spending goes on two things: children's services and adult social care. Everything else the council does — bins, streets, roads, parks, libraries, leisure, housing, climate — shares the remaining 40p.
The working balance has been remarkably flat — around £20–22m for nine years. What has moved is the floor beneath it: the minimum the Director of Finance will allow has been raised twice, from £8m to £10m and now to £12m for 31 March 2027. The balance is not falling; the assessed risk against it is rising.
The headline 17.3% is flattered by one company. Ensign Highways is Portsmouth-registered and holds the highways PFI — £25.3m of the £71.8m local total. Strip that single contract, locked until 2032, and local share falls to roughly 11%. The real finding is construction: £147.1m a year, the largest category by far, with only 10.3% going to Portsmouth-registered firms on work physically done in the city. That is about £132m a year leaving Portsmouth on buildings inside it.
Portsmouth City Council — Budget & Council Tax 2026/27 and Medium-Term Budget Forecast, Full Council · Portsmouth City Council — Statement of Accounts 2024/25 (audited)
£22.112m
GBP · 2025/26
MHCLG Revenue Outturn statutory definition, in cash terms. Original figures in £000 converted to GBP. Outturns are distinct from budget forecasts and the council’s own budget presentation; do not mix them in a trend. The 2025/26 release is an initial return and remains subject to revision.
£2,291.71
GBP per year · 2026/27
£1,908.41
GBP per year · 2026/27
£290.46
GBP per year · 2026/27
£92.84
GBP per year · 2026/27
Amanda Martin
person · Checked 3 October 2026 · Portsmouth North
Constituency representation; constituency boundaries do not equal the local authority boundary. Party: Labour.
