Provisional (methodology v1.0). Weights and measures may change as more data is added.

Separate leagues. England, Scotland and Wales are measured differently, so a rank in one is not comparable with another. Why. England is stable; Scotland and Wales are provisional.

← All Wales councils · Blaenau Gwent (9th) · Swansea (11th)

Cardiff

Ranked 10th of 21 councils in Wales: Upper middle; likely range 5th to 15th.

Pillar scores
Pillar	Weight	Rank	Band
Service quality	60%	8	Upper middle
Value for money	20%	6	Upper middle
Financial health	20%	18	Bottom quarter

Service quality

Planning · ranked 5th of 21 Top quarter

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Planning decisions made on time	97.6%	2025-26	5 of 21	94.1%

Waste & recycling · ranked 18th of 21 Bottom quarter

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Municipal waste reused, recycled or composted (statutory target measure)	64.0%	2024-25	19 of 21	70.5%
Residual municipal waste per dwelling	341 kg	2024-25	16 of 21	281 kg

Complaints · ranked 21st of 21 Bottom quarter

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Complaints to the Ombudsman per 1,000 residents	0.8	2025-26	20= of 21	0.5
Share of closed complaints with an Ombudsman intervention	17.1%	2025-26	20= of 21	7.7%

Adult social care · ranked 1st of 21 Top quarter

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Reablement that reduced or mitigated the need for support	81.0%	2024-25	4 of 21	70.0%
Adult safeguarding enquiries completed within 7 working days	97.9%	2024-25	1= of 21	83.1%

Homelessness · ranked 5th of 21 Top quarter

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Homelessness prevented (section 66): successful prevention · Provisional	72.0%	2025-26	6= of 21	66.0%
Homelessness relieved (section 73): successfully relieved · Provisional	51.0%	2025-26	1= of 21	25.0%
Homeless people in temporary accommodation per 1,000 residents	7.8	2026-03-31	20= of 21	2.8

Value for money

Adult social care value for money · ranked 11th of 21 Lower middle

Spend measure: £899.37 against £905.65 expected for a council with the same need and results (good results, lower cost).

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Social services spend per head	£899.37	2025-26	–	£1,059.95

Waste value for money · ranked 4th of 21 Top quarter

Spend measure: £156.89 against £170.78 expected for a council with the same need and results (weaker results, lower cost).

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Local environmental services spend per head	£156.89	2025-26	–	£168.84

Financial health

Reserves · ranked 17th of 21 Bottom quarter

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Usable reserves as a share of net cost of services	17.0%	2023-24	16= of 21	22.0%
Change in usable reserves over the year	-7.0%	2023-24	10 of 19	-7.0%

Debt · ranked 18th of 21 Bottom quarter

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Total borrowing as a share of net cost of services	99.0%	2023-24	18 of 21	70.0%

Context (shown, not scored)

Council tax · ranked 1st of 21 Top quarter

Measure	Value	Period	Rank	Median
Band D council tax (county council element)	£1,603.72	2026-27	1= of 21	£1,845.27

Context

Measure	Value	Period
Population	381,516	2025
Dwellings	159,300	2025-03-31
Revenue expenditure per head	£3,066.76	2025-26
Band D council tax (county council element)	£1,603.72	2026-27
People in income deprivation	25.8%	WIMD 2025

About these results

How these rankings work. Think something is wrong, or want to add a council statement? Tell us.

Financial health uses unaudited 2023-24 accounts, the latest Audit Wales has published for every council, so it is about two years older than the rest. Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil had not filed 2023-24 accounts, so their 2022-23 figures are used. Reserves include schools' balances, and borrowing includes borrowing for council housing and investment.
Denbighshire is not ranked. It has returned no planning data to the Welsh Government since early 2024-25.
There are no children's services or special educational needs measures. Adult social care is measured by reablement outcomes and how quickly safeguarding enquiries are completed; these are official statistics in development.
Ombudsman complaint counts are small, so complaints carry half the weight of other services.