The local authorityCouncil · metropolitan_borough · England · 1 of 36 councils (metropolitan_borough)

Solihull.

Conservative and Unionist Party-controlled metropolitan_borough. £219m net revenue. 17 wards across 3 parliamentary constituencies.

Typemetropolitan_borough
Seats18 councillors · 17 wards
Last election2 May 2024
Websitesolihull.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£219m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,088
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
11/18
Conservative and Unionist Party 61%
Westminster
3
constituencies overlap · 2 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Conservative and Unionist Party chamber, 2-party MP geography.

Solihull is a metropolitan_borough controlled by Conservative and Unionist Party (11 of 18 seats). Net revenue is £219m for 2025-26. It covers 17 wards spanning 3 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.18 seats · last contested 2 May 2024

Who sits in the chamber.

Con 11Green 3LD 3Lab 1

Conservative and Unionist Party 61% · last contested 2 May 2024

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Alison RolfConBickenhill2024
Keith Frank GreenConBlythe2024
Martin Henry Thomas McCarthyConCastle Bromwich2024
Shesh SheshabhatterGrnChelmsley Wood2024
Sally TomlinsonConDorridge Hockley Heath2024
Kate JonesLDElmdon2024
Richard James LongLDElmdon2023
Hazel Jasmine Ellenor DawkinsLabKingshurst Fordbridge2024
David Arthur PinwellConKnowle2024
Josh O'NyonsConLyndon2024
Tony DiciccoConMeriden2024
Sarah Jane PhippsLDOlton2024
Showing 12 of 18·All 18 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

64%
Council tax
£140.8m · median 44%
27%
Central grants
£60.0m · median 41%
8%
Business rates
£18.6m · median 14%

This is a high-council-tax councils (metropolitan_borough): 64% of revenue from council tax, above the cohort median (44%).

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£1,756
County / upper-tier£0
Police£230
Fire & rescue£80
GLA precept£0
Parish average£22
Total Band-D£2,088

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.10 buckets · vs 35 other councils (metropolitan_borough)

How does Solihull split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (metropolitan_borough)-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Education38.5% of net spend · cohort median 41%
22 of 35-5% vs median
Adult Social Care27.7% of net spend · cohort median 26%
10 of 35+7% vs median
Children's Services17.5% of net spend · cohort median 15%
7 of 35+16% vs median
Waste & Recycling5.4% of net spend · cohort median 4%
9 of 35+31% vs median
Public Health3.4% of net spend · cohort median 4%
29 of 35-20% vs median
Highways & Transport2.3% of net spend · cohort median 2%
4 of 35+56% vs median
Corporate & Central2.0% of net spend · cohort median 3%
29 of 35-33% vs median
Housing & Homelessness1.8% of net spend · cohort median 2%
14 of 35+8% vs median
Culture & Leisure1.1% of net spend · cohort median 2%
35 of 35-52% vs median
Planning & Economic Development0.1% of net spend · cohort median 2%
35 of 35-95% vs median
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 04Top suppliers.37,699 payments · £158.0m gross · 3 Dec 202530 Apr 2026

Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).

Top by total — last 180 days

SupplierPaidSharePmts
SOLIHULL COMMUNITY HOUSING£14.22m9.0%90
WEST MIDLANDS POLICE AUTHORITY£7.57m4.8%11
VEOLIA ES (UK) LTD£6.77m4.3%86
WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY£4.44m2.8%9
REDACTED PERSONAL DATA£4.40m2.8%3,795
SOLIHULL BSF SCHOOLS LTD£4.28m2.7%62
COVENTRY & SOLIHULL WASTE DISPOSAL COMPANY LTD£3.07m1.9%2
BALFOUR BEATTY LIVING PLACES LTD£3.00m1.9%423
JOHN GRAHAM HOLDINGS LTD£2.51m1.6%1,471
WEST MIDLANDS FIRE SERVICE£2.34m1.5%10

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Corporate And CentralWEST MIDLANDS POLICE AUTHORITY£3.73m
Waste And RecyclingCOVENTRY & SOLIHULL WASTE DISPOSAL COMPANY LTD£2.93m
Childrens ServicesSOLIHULL BSF SCHOOLS LTD£2.57m
Highways And TransportBALFOUR BEATTY LIVING PLACES LTD£1.75m
Adult Social CareREDACTED PERSONAL DATA£1.53m
Housing And HomelessnessSOLIHULL COMMUNITY HOUSING£1.16m
Planning And EconomicBIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL£0.60m
Culture And LeisureLITTLE WOLF ENTERTAINMENT LTD£0.13m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.17 wards split across 3 parliamentary seats

Solihull’s territory crosses 3 Westminster constituencies, with 2 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Meriden and Solihull East847% Saqib BhattiCon
Solihull West and Shirley741% Neil Shastri-HurstCon
Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North212% Liam ByrneLab
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 2 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Conservative and Unionist Party-controlled metropolitan_borough — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.

Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 35 other councils (metropolitan_borough)
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
37,699 payments · 3 Dec 202530 Apr 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level