Calderdale Council’s debt rose 12 per cent year on year, figures compiled nationally have shown.

The BBC shared data unit has crunched numbers on local government debt, taking in local authorities from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

For Calderdale, figures obtained by the unit show that at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023-24, the council had total debt of £131,690,000.

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2024-25, the council had total debt of £147,616,000.

This is a rise year-on-year of £15,926,000, or 12.09 per cent.

The unit data says Calderdale’s total debt per person at the end of 2023-24 was £630.90 and at the end of 2024-25 it was £707.19 – a year-on-year rise of £76.30, and less than the UK average rise of £1,677 per resident .

The average debt rise nationally is seven per cent, with some authorities showing a rate rising less than Calderdale, some reducing debt, and others whose debt has increased by more.

Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for Resources, Coun Silvia Dacre, said some of the spending is necessary to support some key services and the authority kept a close eye on borrowing.

“The level of borrowing by Calderdale Council is relatively low compared to other similar councils,” she said.

“We are proud of our record of robust financial management during some incredibly challenging financial times.

“The council’s revenue budget is for day-to-day operational service delivery but we also need to ensure assets that we are responsible for and use for service delivery have the right level of investment.

“This investment is part of our capital budget which is funded from government grants, receipts from sale of assets and borrowing from the Public Works Loans Board.

“The capital investment budget is informed by our strategic priorities and covers services such as children’s care, schools, leisure services and highways.

"We’re ambitious about investing in Calderdale but we also acknowledge the importance of managing debt carefully to ensure can protect the services our communities depend upon now and into the future,” she said.

Among Calderdale’s West Yorkshire metropolitan council neighbours over the same period, Bradford’s debt rose by 22.27 per cent, Kirklees’s debt rose by 9.9 per cent, Leeds’s debt rose by four per cent and Wakefield’s debt rose by 15.07 per cent.