Kirklees Borough Council

Political Control & Leadership

Political control

No overall controlLargest party: Reform UK, 29 of 69 seats

Run by

Reform UK minority administration

Seats

Reform UK 29 · Independents and others 14 · Green 12 · Conservative 9 · Liberal Democrats 5 (69 seats)As at May 2026. "Independents and others" includes local parties. Source: Open Council Data UK (public domain).

Leader of the council

Sarah Wood, Reform UK (since 15 July 2026)Source: Wikipedia, checked 19 October 2026

Chief executive

Steve MawsonSource: Wikipedia, checked 1 October 2026

Last election

7 May 20261st Reform UK: 30.0% of the vote, 29 seats2nd Green: 18.3% of the vote, 12 seats3rd Labour: 16.2% of the vote, 0 seats4th Conservative: 15.1% of the vote, 9 seats5th Independent: 10.1% of the vote, 14 seats6th Liberal Democrats: 9.8% of the vote, 5 seatsShare of all votes cast across the council's 23 wards; seats won at that election. Turnout 42.5%. Source: Kirklees Borough Council's published results.

Overview

Population (mid-2025 estimate)

445,832Source: ONS, mid-year population estimates (including NRS for Scotland and NISRA for Northern Ireland)

Website

kirklees.gov.uk

Ombudsman complaints

Complaints and enquiries the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman received about this council in 2025-26: 145. The most were about education and children's services (48), adult social care (30) and housing (17).

The Ombudsman cautions against reading this number on its own as a measure of how well a council performs: it also depends on how many people the council serves, one-off local events, people’s expectations, and how well the council tells people they can complain to the Ombudsman.

Decided in 2025-26: 122. Invalid or incomplete 6; advice given 2; referred back to the council to deal with first 41; closed after initial enquiries 49; investigated 24.

Of the 24 investigated, 22 upheld (92%): the Ombudsman found fault, or found the council had already offered a suitable remedy. In 27% of the 22 upheld cases, the council had already put things right satisfactorily before the complaint reached the Ombudsman.

Recommendations carried out: 100% of the 13 cases with an outcome recorded in 2025-26. Carried out on time: 10 of 13 (77%).

Change on 2024-25: complaints and enquiries received 27 more (up 22.9%); decided 13 more (up 11.9%); investigated 7 more; upheld 6 more.

Source: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, annual review data 2025-26 (1 April to 31 March; how to read these figures). © Commission for Local Administration in England. “Investigated” (upheld plus not upheld) and the changes on 2024-25 are our sums from the published figures.

Finance

Annual revenue budget

£799m

Council tax 2026/27 (Band D)

£2,441.07 in totalKirklees Borough Council: £2,062.42 (up £98.02, 5.0% on the year before), including £39.29 for adult social careWest Yorkshire PCC: £278.28West Yorkshire Fire: £89.49Parish and town councils (average): £10.88Band D is the middle band that council tax is set from; most homes are in lower bands and pay less. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, council tax levels 2026/27.

Council Spending by Service

Total

£846m2025-26 · MHCLG (outturn) · May not match "Annual revenue budget" above. That figure is a different accounting measure (budgeted resource requirement) for a different year than this outturn total.

Education services

£389m

Adult Social Care

£203m

Children Social Care

£102m

Environmental and regulatory services

£42m

Public Health

£34m

Central services

£24m

Housing services (GFRA only)

£22m

Cultural and related services

£17m

Planning and development services

£6m

Highways and transport services

£5m

Other services

£3m

Claimant count

13,320 people claiming unemployment-related benefits, September 2026

4.8% of residents aged 16 to 64 · +500 on September 2025

The Claimant Count is people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance plus people on Universal Credit who are required to look for work. Before 2013 it counted only Unemployment Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants, so earlier years are not strictly comparable. Universal Credit requires more people to search for work than Jobseeker’s Allowance did, so as it replaced older benefits from 2013, part of the rise in the count reflects that change rather than more unemployment. It is not the official unemployment rate, which comes from a survey. The latest month can be revised.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Claimant Count (via Nomis). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Welfare spending

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Motability

16,338 people eligible for a Motability vehicle (enhanced PIP mobility rate)Up 1,054 (7%) on July 2025 (15,284)

Across the UK, more than 890,000 vehicles were leased through the Motability Scheme at 30 September 2025. Motability Operations annual report and accounts 2025

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, PIP, July 2026

Child poverty

Children under 16 living in low-income families, 2024-25

A child is counted if their family’s income is below 60% of the UK median for that year and the family claimed Child Benefit plus at least one other benefit (Universal Credit, tax credits or Housing Benefit). The two measures can differ a lot: housing costs push the after-housing-costs figure far higher in expensive areas such as London. Figures are provisional and years before 2021/22 are not comparable, so the trend starts there.

Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Children in Low Income Families: local area statistics (FYE 2022 to 2025, published 26 March 2026).

Fuel poverty

21,067 households in fuel poverty, 2024

11.3% of 186,886 households · England 9.9%

A household is counted as fuel poor if its home has an energy efficiency rating of band D or below and, after paying for housing and the energy it needs, its income is below the poverty line (60% of the national median). These are modelled estimates: the government advises using them for broad comparisons and to spot areas of particularly high or low fuel poverty, not to track year to year changes, so only the latest year is shown. Neighbourhoods are small census areas (lower layer super output areas) of roughly 1,500 people, named after their council and a reference number; their estimates are less certain than the council figure.

Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Sub-regional fuel poverty data (2024 data). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

House prices

£208,427 average house price, August 2026

+5.1% over 12 months · −0.2% over 1 month · 300 sales in June 2026

Average prices are HM Land Registry’s estimates for the whole area, adjusted for the mix of homes sold, not the price of any one home. Figures for the latest months are provisional: sales can take weeks or months to be registered, so each month is revised for a year after it is first published. Sales counts are published about three months behind prices. In areas with fewer sales, figures can swing noticeably from month to month.

Source: HM Land Registry, UK House Price Index (August 2026 data). Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Homelessness

424 households were owed help by the council because they were homeless or at risk, January to March 2026

357 households in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2026

268 with children · 667 children

12 owed temporary accommodation but none yet secured

Councils must help households threatened with homelessness within 56 days (prevention duty) and those already homeless (relief duty), and may house them in temporary accommodation while more settled housing is found. Figures for January to March 2026 are provisional and may be revised. “Not published” means the council did not submit figures or MHCLG suppressed small numbers to protect households.

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Statutory homelessness: detailed local authority level tables (accredited official statistics). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Crime

43,862 crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026

Down 2.1% on the previous 12 months

Source: data.police.uk, the official police crime data for England and Wales, summed to this council’s boundary from the small local area each crime is recorded in. Locations are approximate by design to protect privacy. Includes antisocial behaviour. Excludes fraud, which is recorded nationally, and the small number of crimes (about 1.4% in recent months) that police record with no location.

Crime figures last updated 20 October 2026.

Road casualties

People killed or injured on roads reported to the police, 2025

These are casualties in collisions reported to the police on all roads in the council’s area, including motorways and trunk roads it doesn’t manage. Killed, seriously injured and slightly injured are counts as recorded by the police and add up to all casualties. Police forces have moved to an injury based recording system that classes more injuries as serious, so the Department for Transport estimates how many people would have been recorded as seriously injured if every force had used it. The chart uses that estimate, rounded to whole people, so that years can be compared.

Source: Department for Transport, Reported road casualties Great Britain (RAS0403, first published 30 July 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Fly-tipping

Fly-tipping incidents, 2024/25

10,120Up 22% on 2023/24 (8,317)

Enforcement actions

1,589

Fixed penalty notices

27

Prosecutions

12

Source: Defra, Fly-tipping statistics for England, 2024/25.

Public Health

Smoking (adults)

8.6%2025 · OHID Fingertips

Physically active (adults)

62.4%2024/25 · OHID Fingertips

Overweight or obese (adults)

68.1%2024/25 · OHID Fingertips

Life expectancy (male)

77.9 years2021 to 2023 · ONS

Life expectancy (female)

81.6 years2021 to 2023 · ONS

Schools

182 open state schools with 66,338 pupils, Ofsted snapshot as at 31 March 2026

Report cards (inspections since 10 November 2025)

4 schools have a report card. Safeguarding: 4 met.

Earlier inspections (schools without a report card yet)

4 schools have no inspection on record yet (for example, newly opened schools).

Schools in a category of concern

• All Hallows' CofE (VA) Primary School (Primary): Special measures
• Heckmondwike Primary Academy (Primary): Special measures
• Linthwaite Clough Primary School (Primary): Special measures
• Nields Academy (Primary): Special measures

All 182 schools, with each one’s latest inspection →

Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted inspects schools under a renewed framework and publishes a report card grading up to eight areas on a scale of five points, plus whether safeguarding standards are met. Ofsted says these grades cannot be compared with grades from the previous framework, so they are shown separately. Graded inspections between 1 September 2024 and 9 November 2025 gave no overall grade (“Not judged”). Ungraded inspections check whether a school is still at its previous grade; the “Earlier inspections” figures use the last graded inspection.

Source: Ofsted, State-funded schools inspections and outcomes as at 31 March 2026 (official statistics). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

EHC plans

EHC plans issued in 2025 (excluding exceptions): 376. Issued within 20 weeks: 236 (62.8%). Took over a year: 9.

Change on 2024: plans issued 409 fewer (down 52.1%); issued within 20 weeks 56 more (up 31.1%); took over a year 354 fewer (down 97.5%).

An education, health and care (EHC) plan sets out the support a child or young person with special educational needs must get; the council should issue one within 20 weeks of a request. All three figures leave out exceptions: cases where the law allows longer, such as a school being closed for the holidays or a family’s exceptional circumstances.

Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans, 2026 release (calendar years). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Broadband and mobile

95.2% of 202,870 homes and businesses can get gigabit-capable broadband, January 2026

7 premises can't get decent broadband · 44% of premises use full fibre

These figures show what is available, not what people buy. “Decent” broadband means 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload, the standard set by the broadband Universal Service Obligation. Full fibre use is the share of all premises with a full fibre connection in use. Mobile figures count the four networks Ofcom reports (EE, O2, Three and Vodafone) and are modelled predictions of signal strength; 5G figures use Ofcom’s high-confidence measure.

Source: Ofcom, Connected Nations (January 2026 data). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Sewage spills

20,227 hours of sewage spills from 197 storm overflows in 2025

4,134 spills counted · 165 of 197 overflows with figures spilled at least once · 20th most spill hours of 288 council areas in England with storm overflows

Storm overflows are run by water companies, not by the council. The company responsible here is Yorkshire Water.

The 15 overflows with the longest spills

All 197 overflows in this area →

A storm overflow releases diluted sewage into a river or the sea when sewers are overloaded, usually in heavy rain. Hours are the total time all spills lasted. Spills are counted the Environment Agency’s way: any discharge in the first 12 hours counts as one spill, and each further 24 hour block counts as another. Compare every council, constituency and water company.

Source: Environment Agency, Event Duration Monitoring storm overflow annual return 2025. Locations placed in council areas using Office for National Statistics boundaries. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.