Adult and children’s social care

We will always meet the assessed needs of vulnerable people and prioritise these essential services.

Delivering social care services to support the most vulnerable adults and children in our borough accounts for 70% of our annual revenue budget (70p in every £1 the Council spends).

A graph showing the Council’s revenue spend in 2025 / 2026 with £128m being spent on social care

Headline data

Telford & Wrekin Council’s total net budget for 2025 / 2026 was £167 million, with the vast majority allocated to social care for adults and children, which accounted for £128 million and dominated overall spending.

The remaining budget was spread across a range of services, led by:

  • Neighbourhood and Enforcement Services (£32 million)
  • Education and Skills (£14 million).

Smaller allocations went to other services (£9 million):

  • Housing, Commercial and Customer Services (£7 million)
  • Prosperity and Investment (£6 million)
  • Health and Wellbeing received (£1 million).
Donut chart of Telford & Wrekin Council’s £167m 2025/26 budget: Social Care £128m, Neighbourhood £32m, Education £14m, others smaller.

These are services that have seen huge increases in terms of both demand and costs over the last few years.

Despite a fairer funding finance package from the Government this year, over the past decade funding to support local services fell short, leaving local authorities like us to care on our own. This year’s settlement is a significant and welcome boost, but still leaves a significant funding gap.

This year’s settlement still leaves a significant funding gap. Our budget proposals for 2026 / 2027 recommend a general council tax increase equivalent to £0.78 per week for an average Band B property alongside a £0.42 per week increase for the adult social care precept. All of the funding generated from the total increase will be invested in the provision of social care services to support the most vulnerable people in our community.

The proposed council tax increase will raise £4.7m towards the £18.5m additional investment that is required into our social care services next year, with the additional investment required being found additional funding from the Government’s fairer funding settlement and through savings.

Download the full Budget papers

Consultation

To share your feedback on the proposals, please email  yourviewsmatter@telford.gov.uk by 3 February 2026.