Vital investment in care services, our roads and local jobs sits at the heart of our plans for Dorset this year. The budget for 2026 to 2027 is £482 million.
Around 60% of this funding will support older and vulnerable residents and children. We are also investing in major road improvements and safety works, with no plans to increase car parking charges. This funding enables more than 450 services to be delivered to over 380,000 residents across Dorset. Some of these services are visible day to day, such as bins being collected or roads being repaired. Other services, such as social care, often take place behind the scenes, providing vital support for people at key moments in their lives. As costs rise and more people turn to us for support, we remain focused on protecting the services residents rely on most.
With government funding covering only a fraction of what is needed to run local services, Council Tax continues to be a vital source of funding. Even so, we continue to deliver strong value – from Ofsted‑rated “outstanding” children’s services to kerbside recycling that’s among the best in the country.
This year the Dorset Council element of Council Tax is increasing by just under 3%. The adult social care element will increase by just under 2%. For the average Band D household, this is around £2.02 more per week, just below the maximum increase the government allows councils to make.
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The net budget total is £482 million, you can view the sources of funding using the pie chart, or a table.
| Source of funding | Budget / percentage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Council Tax | £362.9 million (75.2%) |
The money we receive from our residents to pay for the services we provide |
| Retained Business Rates | £58.9 million (12.2%) | The money we receive from businesses such as shops, offices, hotels and factories, to pay for the services we provide |
| Revenue Support Grant | £60.8 million (12.6%) | The funding we receive from central Government in the form of Revenue Support Grant |
Some government grants have been combined this year and now all appear under Revenue Support Grant. This is a change to the way the government presents the funding - it isn’t extra money. We still rely mainly on Council Tax to fund services.
You can see how the budget is spent in the infographic, or a table.
| Service provided | Budget |
|---|---|
| Adult social care | £185.5m |
| Children's social care | £86.8m |
| School travel and public transport | £44.2m |
| Street cleaning, waste collection and disposal | £36.3m |
| Transformation, customer and cultural services | £16.6m |
| Education and learning | £15.9m |
| Housing | £9.2m |
| Communities and public protection | £7.2m |
| Properties | £6.7m |
| Highways and parking | £5.9m |
| Planning | £3.8m |
| Environment and wellbeing | £3.4m |
| Supporting businesses and creating jobs | £1.7m |
| Corporate Services and Central Finance (includes Revenues and Benefits, Finance, Procurement, Human Resources, IT, Legal and Democratic Services) | £59.4m |
| Total net budget | £482.6m |
This doesn’t include capital funding that supports highways, climate work and other Dorset Council priorities.
Adult social care is our largest area of spending, find out more about how we care and support residents and read real stories from behind our adult social care budget.
