Map › All councils › Lincoln

Lincoln council debt

District council, England. Latest figures: Jun 2026.

Total debt
£118m
£118,148,000
Debt per person
£1,143
103,351 residents
Net debt
£108m
after £9.9m of investments
Change in a year
+12.8%
+£13.4m since Mar 2025
Debt to budget
2.9×
times net current spending, 2025-26
Local economy
£37,571
GDP per person; debt is 3.0% of the area's £3.88bn GDP
Debt cost
£45
per person: £4.6m of interest and repayment in 2025-26 (£3.6m interest)

Lincoln has the 37th highest debt per person of 164 district councils in the UK (Jun 2026).

Lincoln debt over time

£0£32.5m£65.0m£97.6m£130mJun 202620102012201420162018202020222024

Outstanding borrowing at each date, Mar 2010 to Jun 2026.

What Lincoln spent capital money on

Councils borrow to pay for capital spending: buildings, roads, housing, loans to their own companies, commercial property. Capital spending by service in each financial year, and how much of it was paid for by new borrowing, 2018-19 to 2024-25.

2018-19£39.0m · borrowed £11.6m2019-20£22.0m · borrowed £11.8m2020-21£19.6m · borrowed £8.7m2021-22£21.9m · borrowed £6.7m2022-23£23.9m · borrowed £4.1m2023-24£26.4m · borrowed £4.5m2024-25£33.9m · borrowed £2.2m
HousingCulture, leisure and sportCommercial property and companiesRoads and transportEnvironment and wasteCentral services and corporate propertyDigitalPlanning and regeneration
YearCapital spendingBorrowedBiggest items
2024-25£33.9m£2.2mHousing £18.2m, Roads and transport £11.6m, Culture, leisure and sport £3.7m
2023-24£26.4m£4.5mHousing £16.0m, Culture, leisure and sport £4.2m, Roads and transport £3.8m
2022-23£23.9m£4.1mHousing £13.3m, Culture, leisure and sport £8.0m, Environment and waste £1.4m
2021-22£21.9m£6.7mHousing £15.9m, Culture, leisure and sport £2.6m, Environment and waste £2.6m
2020-21£19.6m£8.7mHousing £17.0m, Culture, leisure and sport £1.8m, Commercial property and companies £389k
2019-20£22.0m£11.8mHousing £12.5m, Commercial property and companies £6.9m, Culture, leisure and sport £2.0m
2018-19£39.0m£11.6mHousing £25.7m, Commercial property and companies £11.2m, Roads and transport £943k

"Borrowed" is new borrowing and credit used to finance that year's spending; it can exceed the spending when a council borrows to cover earlier costs or, with government permission, day-to-day losses. Source: MHCLG capital outturn (England, from 2018-19); StatsWales capital outturn (Wales). Not yet available for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Who Lincoln borrows from

LenderAmountShare
Public Works Loan Board (PWLB)the government's lending facility for councils, run by the UK Debt Management Office; most council borrowing comes from it£98.1m83%
Banksloans from UK banks, including LOBO loans (lender option, borrower option)£10.0m8%
Other councilsloans from other local authorities, usually short term£10.0m8%

Outstanding loans by type of lender as reported by the council to MHCLG, short and long term together, as at Jun 2026. The return groups lenders by sector, not by name.

Lincoln debt by year

DateDebtInvestmentsNet debtPer personPopulationDebt cost
Jun 2026£118m£9.9m£108m£1,143103,351£4.6m
Mar 2026£118m£12.0m£106m£1,146103,351£4.6m
Dec 2025£118m£17.4m£101m£1,146103,351£4.5m
Sep 2025£104m£11.4m£92.4m£1,005103,351£4.5m
Jun 2025£104m£11.1m£92.8m£989104,939£4.5m
Mar 2025£105m£20.1m£85.0m£1,001104,939£4.5m
Dec 2024£107m£17.9m£89.2m£1,020104,939£4.5m
Sep 2024£107m£29.7m£77.7m£1,024104,939£4.5m
Jun 2024£107m£19.1m£88.3m£1,030104,303£4.5m
Mar 2024£108m£18.0m£89.8m£1,033104,303£4.5m
Dec 2023£109m£28.7m£80.6m£1,047104,303£4.7m
Sep 2023£114m£41.5m£72.9m£1,096104,303£4.7m
Jun 2023£114m£35.2m£79.2m£1,108103,165£4.7m
Mar 2023£122m£37.1m£84.8m£1,182103,165£4.7m
Dec 2022£125m£50.1m£74.9m£1,211103,165£5.2m
Sep 2022£130m£64.9m£65.2m£1,261103,165£5.2m
Jun 2022£130m£63.3m£66.7m£1,270102,411£5.2m
Mar 2022£125m£50.3m£74.9m£1,222102,411£5.2m
Dec 2021£126m£55.0m£70.7m£1,228102,411£5.4m
Sep 2021£121m£47.1m£73.7m£1,180102,411£5.4m
Jun 2021£123m£40.8m£82.6m£1,192103,531£5.4m
Mar 2021£118m£34.4m£84.0m£1,144103,531£5.4m
Dec 2020£122m£42.1m£80.3m£1,183103,531£4.9m
Sep 2020£118m£33.5m£84.0m£1,135103,531£4.9m
Jun 2020£118m£38.1m£79.5m£1,135103,604£4.9m
Mar 2020£120m£32.0m£88.2m£1,160103,604£4.9m
Mar 2019£115m£29.3m£86.0m£1,118103,212£4.1m
Mar 2018£81.1m£15.9m£65.2m£793102,241£3.6m
Mar 2017£74.8m£21.9m£52.9m£743100,679–
Mar 2016£75.4m£23.0m£52.3m£75899,442–
Mar 2015£75.4m£27.4m£47.9m£76598,482–
Mar 2014£75.4m£20.2m£55.1m£77397,452–
Mar 2013£75.4m£19.1m£56.2m£78995,501–
Mar 2012£75.5m£20.6m£54.8m£81193,085–
Mar 2011£50.4m£15.3m£35.1m£54792,188–
Mar 2010£50.4m£16.1m£34.3m£55590,813–

Similar councils

CouncilDebtPer person
Rushmoor£127m£1,196
Redditch£104m£1,187
Winchester£159m£1,162
Lincoln£118m£1,143
Tandridge£102m£1,127
Folkestone & Hythe£118m£1,050
Dover£126m£1,042

District councils closest in debt per person, Jun 2026.

See Lincoln on the UK council debt map