Local government expenditure and income in 2024-25

3 Feb 2026 10:36 AM

A National Statistics Publication.

The Chief Statistician has released figures on local government finance in 2024-25. These figures provide a comprehensive overview of the financial activity of local government, including revenue expenditure and income; capital expenditure and financing; reserves; debt; and pensions.

Revenue expenditure is the cost of delivering services each year. Local authorities net revenue expenditure in 2024-25 was £14,887 million. Education Services and Social Work Services were the services with highest net revenue expenditure, accounting for £7,778 million and £4,873 million respectively.

Capital expenditure is expenditure that creates the buildings and infrastructure necessary to provide services, such as schools and roads. Local authorities incurred £4,659 million of capital expenditure in 2024-25. This was predominantly financed by grants and contributions of £2,101 million and borrowing of £1,479 million.

Usable reserves are local authorities’ surplus income from previous years which can be used to finance future revenue or capital expenditure. At 31 March 2025, local authorities held £3,931 million of usable reserves.

When local authorities borrow money or use credit arrangements to finance capital expenditure, a debt is created which has to be repaid from future revenues. In 2024-25, local authorities made debt repayments of £591 million and at 31 March 2025 they had a total debt of £25,296 million.

Background

Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics (SLGFS) 2024-25 is based on final, audited figures provided by local authorities (where available, or draft accounts if these have not yet been audited).

Further information on Local Government Finance statistics publications and data collections can be found on the Scottish Government website.

These statistics have been produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.