Local elections 2021: How do Hampshire councils spend your money?

Local elections will be held across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on Thursday 6 May.

People across Hampshire can cast their ballot in the local council elections, with the unitary authorities also holding votes in Southampton, Portsmouth and on the Isle of Wight.

Local authorities are funded by a variety of sources, including council tax, government grants and other income, like parking charges.

Here is how £100 of your money get spent by each of the councils which are holding elections this year.

Unitary authorities:

Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight councils are unitary authorities which are responsible for all the local services, from roads and parks to schools and social care, and have all the necessary powers to deliver them. None of the unitary authorities has an elected mayor.

Southampton City Council

Covering the largest city in in the area, Southampton City Council delivers services for over 250,000 people.

It plans to spend £512m this year, with £105.9m coming from council tax. This is how it spends every £100 it has:

Portsmouth City Council

At the eastern end of the M27, Portsmouth City Council serves a population of around 205,000 people.

It plans to spend £463m this year, with £86m coming from council tax. This is how it spends every £100 it has:

Isle of Wight Council

Like Southampton and Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight is a unitary authority, meaning the council is responsible for all services for its 141,000 residents.

The authority is expecting to spend £336.7m this financial year with around £89m of that coming from council tax.

Two tier councils

In the rest of Hampshire, services are split between two levels of council:

• The district and borough councils, which are responsible for bin collections, planning decisions and housing,

• The larger county council, which is responsible for roads, education and waste disposal.

With smaller populations and fewer services to provide, borough and district councils typically spend much less than county councils and unitary authorities.

Hampshire County Council

Hampshire County Council is the top-tier authority, and delivers some services for all residents in Hampshire who do not live in Southampton or Portsmouth or those on the Isle of Wight.

It serves a population of 1.4m people, making it one of the largest councils in the country and has a budget of £2.3bn for the current financial year, with £707m of that coming from council tax.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is responsible for services like bin collections, planning and maintaining roads.

The area, which includes Bramley, Tadley and Kingsclere, has a population of about 175,000 people. The authority generated £8.43m from council tax last year.

Eastleigh Borough Council

Eastleigh Borough Council is another authority that takes care of day-to-day services for its population of more than 131,000.

The council says it expects to spend more than £65m during the course of the year and, like other borough council, much of this will be financed by income from charges for services and government grants.

This leaves it with a net budget of £9.9m, of which about £5.5m will be generated from council tax.

Fareham Borough Council

Fareham Borough Council uses its net budget of £10.2m to provide local services such as street cleaning, housing and refuse collection.

The town, which lies on the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, has a population of more than 116,000 residents.

Gosport Borough Council

Just south east of Fareham, the borough council in Gosport has set itself a net budget of just over £11m for the coming year.

The borough has a population of about 85,000 and its residents contribute about £6.3m in council tax.

Havant Borough Council

Havant Borough Council has a net budget of £13.6m to spend on services for its population of about 125,000 people.

The authority, which also covers Waterlooville, Hayling Island and Emsworth, is expecting to generate about £8.9m from council tax.

Rushmoor Borough Council

Rushmoor Borough Council received council tax contributions of more than £6.7m last year.

The district in north Hampshire, which includes Aldershot and Farnborough, has a population of about 95,000.

Winchester City Council

Winchester City Council serves a population of about 120,000 people and has a budget of £30m, generating about £8m from council tax.

As well as the cathedral city, the council provides services for a large area of central Hampshire, including Bishop's Waltham, Denmead, New Alresford, and Kings Worthy

Across Hampshire, voters will also be polled on their choice for the next police and crime commissioner. You can see the Hampshire and Isle of Wight PCC candidates here.