Plymouth council debt
Unitary authority, England. Latest figures: Jun 2026.
Financial distress
- Exceptional Financial Support for 2024-25: £72.0m agreed by the government, allowing the council to borrow or sell assets to balance its budget.
Sources: GOV.UK Exceptional Financial Support; section 114 notices as listed in Section 114 notice (Wikipedia).
Plymouth has the 47th highest debt per person of 197 single-tier councils in the UK (Jun 2026).
Plymouth debt over time
Outstanding borrowing at each date, Mar 2010 to Jun 2026.
What Plymouth 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.
| Year | Capital spending | Borrowed | Biggest items |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | £111m | £33.6m | Roads and transport £44.6m, Housing £15.5m, Culture, leisure and sport £15.3m |
| 2023-24 | £93.8m | £45.3m | Roads and transport £33.0m, Environment and waste £13.8m, Other trading services £10.2m |
| 2022-23 | £87.0m | £44.5m | Roads and transport £47.9m, Environment and waste £11.4m, Central services and corporate property £8.6m |
| 2021-22 | £75.3m | £38.3m | Roads and transport £40.9m, Environment and waste £7.8m, Culture, leisure and sport £6.2m |
| 2020-21 | £106m | £58.4m | Roads and transport £39.2m, Commercial property and companies £27.1m, Planning and regeneration £8.2m |
| 2019-20 | £196m | £163m | Central services and corporate property £78.3m, Other trading services £38.8m, Roads and transport £27.4m |
| 2018-19 | £134m | £98.7m | Other trading services £55.8m, Culture, leisure and sport £21.1m, Roads and transport £19.8m |
"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 Plymouth borrows from
| Lender | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | £552m | 69% |
| Other councilsloans from other local authorities, usually short term | £186m | 23% |
| Banksloans from UK banks, including LOBO loans (lender option, borrower option) | £62.0m | 8% |
| Householdsmoney lent by individuals, for example community municipal investments | £176k | 0% |
| Pension funds, insurers and other financial institutionslenders that are financial institutions but not banks: pension funds, insurance companies, investment funds, the Municipal Bonds Agency | £33k | 0% |
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.
Plymouth debt by year
| Date | Debt | Investments | Net debt | Per person | Population | Debt cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 | £800m | £91.3m | £709m | £2,950 | 271,361 | £44.1m |
| Mar 2026 | £784m | £91.5m | £692m | £2,889 | 271,361 | £44.1m |
| Dec 2025 | £757m | £107m | £650m | £2,791 | 271,361 | £39.3m |
| Sep 2025 | £758m | £144m | £614m | £2,793 | 271,361 | £39.3m |
| Jun 2025 | £708m | £106m | £602m | £2,603 | 271,904 | £39.3m |
| Mar 2025 | £703m | £90.1m | £613m | £2,584 | 271,904 | £39.3m |
| Dec 2024 | £665m | £77.7m | £587m | £2,445 | 271,904 | £36.3m |
| Sep 2024 | £645m | £85.5m | £559m | £2,371 | 271,904 | £36.3m |
| Jun 2024 | £650m | £108m | £541m | £2,401 | 270,641 | £36.3m |
| Mar 2024 | £650m | £78.9m | £571m | £2,401 | 270,641 | £36.3m |
| Dec 2023 | £593m | £80.5m | £512m | £2,190 | 270,641 | £29.5m |
| Sep 2023 | £568m | £90.4m | £477m | £2,098 | 270,641 | £29.5m |
| Jun 2023 | £553m | £85.1m | £468m | £2,066 | 267,574 | £29.5m |
| Mar 2023 | £553m | £83.8m | £469m | £2,066 | 267,574 | £29.5m |
| Dec 2022 | £558m | £89.7m | £468m | £2,084 | 267,574 | £25.9m |
| Sep 2022 | £523m | £71.9m | £451m | £1,954 | 267,574 | £25.9m |
| Jun 2022 | £533m | £80.6m | £452m | £2,012 | 264,768 | £25.9m |
| Mar 2022 | £538m | £90.7m | £447m | £2,031 | 264,768 | £25.9m |
| Dec 2021 | £583m | £135m | £447m | £2,201 | 264,768 | £33.0m |
| Sep 2021 | £538m | £85.1m | £453m | £2,031 | 264,768 | £33.0m |
| Jun 2021 | £529m | £72.1m | £457m | £1,998 | 264,830 | £33.0m |
| Mar 2021 | £584m | £96.0m | £488m | £2,206 | 264,830 | £33.0m |
| Dec 2020 | £569m | £84.5m | £485m | £2,149 | 264,830 | £26.0m |
| Sep 2020 | £548m | £73.7m | £474m | £2,068 | 264,830 | £26.0m |
| Jun 2020 | £553m | £80.4m | £472m | £2,085 | 265,041 | £26.0m |
| Mar 2020 | £588m | £105m | £483m | £2,217 | 265,041 | £26.0m |
| Mar 2019 | £449m | £84.7m | £364m | £1,690 | 265,689 | £20.5m |
| Mar 2018 | £358m | £80.6m | £278m | £1,351 | 265,294 | £19.2m |
| Mar 2017 | £286m | £64.5m | £222m | £1,083 | 264,440 | – |
| Mar 2016 | £240m | £69.2m | £171m | £914 | 263,088 | – |
| Mar 2015 | £213m | £74.1m | £138m | £811 | 261,980 | – |
| Mar 2014 | £225m | £83.4m | £142m | £867 | 259,549 | – |
| Mar 2013 | £226m | £82.5m | £144m | £877 | 257,886 | – |
| Mar 2012 | £206m | £62.6m | £144m | £804 | 256,589 | – |
| Mar 2011 | £286m | £166m | £120m | £1,126 | 254,227 | – |
| Mar 2010 | £233m | £154m | £78.2m | £919 | 253,116 | – |
Similar councils
| Council | Debt | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| Brent | £1.07bn | £3,048 |
| Clackmannanshire | £153m | £2,964 |
| Birmingham | £3.49bn | £2,962 |
| Plymouth | £800m | £2,950 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £795m | £2,919 |
| South Lanarkshire | £974m | £2,914 |
| Greenwich | £868m | £2,880 |
Single-tier councils closest in debt per person, Jun 2026.