Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council: council tax and spending
How much council tax people pay, how it has changed, and what the council plans to spend on each service.
Council tax
An average Band D home in Blaenau Gwent pays £2,531 in council tax in 2026-27. That is up 4.2% on last year. Ten years ago, in 2016-17, it was £1,695. The Wales average is £2,283.
Band D is the middle council tax band, used to compare councils. Homes in lower bands pay less and homes in higher bands pay more.
Where your council tax goes
One council tax bill pays for up to three bodies. The council sets its own part; the police and crime commissioner and any community or town council set theirs. The community council part is an average across the area: many homes pay none.
The council: £2,091
The police: £404
Community and town councils: £37
Band D council tax since 1996-97
Amounts are as charged each year, not adjusted for inflation.
Show every year as a table
Year
Band D total
Welsh average
2026-27
£2,531.26
£2,283.08
2025-26
£2,428.43
£2,169.71
2024-25
£2,302.99
£2,024.31
2023-24
£2,181.84
£1,879.46
2022-23
£2,098.66
£1,777.18
2021-22
£2,078.20
£1,730.98
2020-21
£2,009.29
£1,666.94
2019-20
£1,927.73
£1,590.85
2018-19
£1,827.94
£1,492.03
2017-18
£1,753.99
£1,420.00
2016-17
£1,694.66
£1,374.21
2015-16
£1,635.05
£1,327.62
2014-15
£1,591.44
£1,275.85
2013-14
£1,525.90
£1,225.87
2012-13
£1,462.97
£1,187.84
2011-12
£1,426.29
£1,161.96
2010-11
£1,381.69
£1,126.54
2009-10
£1,325.12
£1,086.43
2008-09
£1,263.70
£1,044.03
2007-08
£1,215.31
£1,004.79
2006-07
£1,156.76
£962.05
2005-06
£1,101.29
£921.00
2004-05
£1,037.78
£887.42
2003-04
£975.53
£837.23
2002-03
£878.85
£762.20
2001-02
£796.46
£709.70
2000-01
£727.41
£669.43
1999-00
£639.64
£601.69
1998-99
£563.10
£554.74
1997-98
£491.58
£495.57
1996-97
£427.73
£462.39
What the council plans to spend
The council's budget for 2026-27, per person living in the area, by service. The line on each bar shows the average for Welsh councils.
The council plans to spend £3,641 per person on its services in 2026-27. Education is the biggest part, at £1,340 per person, or 37% of the total.
Education
Schools, school transport, additional learning needs and youth services.
£1,340 (Welsh average: £1,307)
Social services
Care for older and disabled adults, and support for children and families, including children in care.
£1,081 (Welsh average: £1,045)
Housing
Homelessness, housing advice and benefits. Council homes are paid for from rents in a separate account.
£432 (Welsh average: £327)
Bins, streets and public protection
Collecting waste and recycling, cleaning streets, food safety, trading standards, cemeteries, registering births, deaths and marriages, and elections.
£221 (Welsh average: £172)
Running the council
Senior management, councillors and meetings, and pension costs.
£167 (Welsh average: £67)
Borrowing costs
Interest and repayments on money borrowed for schools, roads and other long-term projects.
£118 (Welsh average: £113)
Roads and transport
Repairing roads, gritting, street lights, parking and support for buses.
£107 (Welsh average: £107)
Libraries, leisure and culture
Libraries, museums, sport and leisure centres, parks and tourism.
£96 (Welsh average: £76)
Planning and economic development
Planning, building control, business support and community development.
£42 (Welsh average: £40)
Collecting council tax
Billing and collecting council tax and business rates.
£21 (Welsh average: £19)
Other spending
Flood defence, coroners, payments to community councils and accounting adjustments.
£18 (Welsh average: £92)
In 2026-27, council tax pays for about 27% of what Welsh councils budget for. Most of the rest comes from the Welsh Government's support for councils, which includes business rates collected across Wales and shared out. These figures leave out the levies councils pay to fire and rescue authorities and national park authorities.
Per person figures are the Welsh Government's own, using its population estimates.
Money from the Welsh Government
In 2026-27, the Welsh Government gives the council £166 million, or £2,439 per person: £142 million of revenue support grant and £23.3 million from the national pool of business rates.
Across Wales, councils get £6.6 billion in 2026-27. The Welsh Government says this is an average increase of 4.5% on the year before, comparing like with like, and that no council gets an increase below 4.0%. The Welsh Government's statement on the settlement
Support per person since 2017-18
This is the general support councils can spend as they choose. They get other grants for particular purposes on top. For the whole Welsh Government budget, see Open Senedd.
What it actually spent, year by year
Total spending per person on the council's services in past years, from its accounts (revenue outturn). The accounts group services differently from the budget above, so only the total is shown here. Amounts are as spent each year, not adjusted for inflation.
Service
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
2025-26
All services
£2,850
£3,218
£3,327
£3,591
£3,775
Budget papers
The reports behind each year's budget and council tax, from full Council and Cabinet meetings. Each opens the meeting's papers.
Welsh Government statistics published on StatsWales: average Band D council tax by billing authority, budgeted revenue expenditure by authority and service, central government support for councils, and revenue outturn (what councils actually spent). They are accredited official statistics.