This shows how fast the council's total debt is growing (or shrinking) each year, as a percentage. It matters because a council whose debt races upwards year after year is taking on repayment costs that will squeeze its future budgets. A high positive number means debt is piling up quickly — worth asking why; a number near zero or negative means debt is stable or being paid down.
| Council | Class | Value | In its class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maldon | district | 8,930 | 1st worst of 156 |
| South Gloucestershire | unitary | 1,017 | 1st worst of 63 |
| Cotswold | district | 407.04 | 2nd worst of 156 |
| Rochford | district | 319.95 | 3rd worst of 156 |
| Lichfield | district | 228.74 | 4th worst of 156 |
| Three Rivers | district | 176.15 | 5th worst of 156 |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | district | 93.85 | 6th worst of 156 |
| South Ribble | district | 66.39 | 7th worst of 156 |
| Teignbridge | district | 56.48 | 8th worst of 156 |
| Havant | district | 50.39 | 9th worst of 156 |
| Council | Class | Value | In its class |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Hertfordshire | district | -77.54 | 1st best of 156 |
| Erewash | district | -37.4 | 2nd best of 156 |
| Hertsmere | district | -37.23 | 3rd best of 156 |
| Mole Valley | district | -22.28 | 4th best of 156 |
| Brentwood | district | -21.59 | 5th best of 156 |
| Warrington | unitary | -12.25 | 1st best of 63 |
| Tunbridge Wells | district | -11.04 | 6th best of 156 |
| Fylde | district | -10.87 | 7th best of 156 |
| St Albans | district | -8.78 | 8th best of 156 |
| North West Leicestershire | district | -8.31 | 9th best of 156 |
| name | debt_growth_rate |
|---|---|
| dataset | 02-capital-outturn-debt |
| kind | constructed |
| type | numeric |
| unit | %/yr |
| grain | council-year |
| role | feature |
| source | (cfr_end[t] − cfr_end[t−1]) / cfr_end[t−1] — PRU1_prucfrend_amt across PeriodCode years (201903 to 202503) in Capital_time_series_data_wide_24_03_26.csv |
| period | 2018-19 to 2024-25 (year-on-year) |
| missingness | unknown |
| calculated | ../calculated/debt-growth-rate.csv |
| calculated_rows | 1741 |
| calculated_periods | 2019-20 to 2024-25 |
| calculated_date | 2026-08-13 |
| score_note | Pace of debt build-up is self-normalizing and a proven distress precursor. |
| peer_group | districts (n=186), unitaries (n=63), metropolitan boroughs (n=36), counties (n=26) — scored within each class against its median/IQR |
The pace of debt accumulation, measured as year-on-year growth in the Capital Financing Requirement. Sustained double-digit growth marks aggressive capital or commercial strategies of the kind that preceded several council failures. Reorganisations (new unitaries) break the year-on-year formula — growth cannot be computed across an authority boundary change.