Accredited official statistics

Local authority capital expenditure and receipts in England final outturn: Time series guidance

Updated 28 November 2024

Applies to England

Version	Date	Change notes
1	30/05/2024	First publication of document

1. Introduction 

This note explains how to use the time series and associated metadata for ‘Local Authority Capital Expenditure and Receipts in England Final Outturn’.  

2. Time series CSV file 

Data in the time series file covers all variables collected as part of the capital outturn return completed by local authorities each year. Data is presented in cash terms and in £ thousands. Variables are listed grouped by themes, in an order similar to that in the Local authority capital expenditure and receipts in England publication. The time series file however includes more variables that are not present in the yearly publication to allow for more clarity (e.g. yearly tables have variable breakdowns into ‘to which to other local authorities’, and the time series provides the reverse in addition, ‘excluding to other local authorities’). To help identify the variables you are interested in, please consult the metadata file attached underneath the time series file on the gov.uk website. 

2.1 England totals 

Users should note that this file includes two rows for England totals: England (grossed) and England (grossed, excluding double counting). These totals should be used, rather than summing together local authority data if England totals are needed. This is because in some periods we may not have returns from all authorities. In this instance, the England total is adjusted to reflect what the data could be expected to be, had returns been received by all authorities. Therefore, this is likely to produce a more reliable time series than summing together local authority data which may be incomplete. The England (grossed, excluding double counting) total does not include transfers between local authorities and/or the Greater London Authority, as these are reported by both parties, while the England (grossed) total includes all reported figures. 

2.2 Identifying records 

Each row represents the return of one local authority (or calculated total) for one year. There is no one variable that can uniquely identify a record. The most efficient way is using PeriodCode together with LA_LGF_Code, which will result in a unique combination. Most users prefer using the 9-character ONS Code to the 5-character LGF one. If you want to combine PeriodCode with ONS_Code instead, please be aware that both England totals mentioned above are recorded under ONS_Code E92000001, and you will need to also use LA_LGF_Code or LA_Name to differentiate between England (grossed) (LGF Code ENG_1) and England (grossed, excluding double counting) (ENG_2). All other records are uniquely identified by the combination of PeriodCode and ONS_Code. 

2.3 Variables of interest 

The time series CSV contains several hundred variables which provide users with detailed breakdowns of capital expenditure and financing. Users should use the accompanying metadata file (further guidance below) to identify the variables they are interested in. However, many users may wish to use this data to examine high level trends. Key total variables and their accompanying assetIDs are listed in Table 1. 

Table 1: Key variables of interest and their assetID 

Variable	assetID
Total capital expenditure	EandR1_alltot_exptot
Total expenditure on fixed assets	EandR1_alltot_exptotfa
Total financial expenditure	EandR1_alltot_exptotfin
Total capital receipts	EandR1_alltot_rectot
Total capital grants	FIN1_fingrn_amt
Total revenue resources	FIN1_finfund_amt
Total prudential borrowing	PRU1_prufinoth_amt
Total resources used to finance capital expenditure	FIN1_fingrandtotpfi_amt

3. Metadata file 

This workbook provides additional information about the data published in the time series file. 

3.1 Release log 

This provides a list of all updates to the published time series file, listing each year affected. 

3.2 Data dictionary 

This provides a full list of all variables collected across all publication periods, with an associated description of each variable. Table 2 provides full details on the fields included in this worksheet and an explanation of them. Users can use this worksheet to identify which variables are of interest to them. 

Table 2: columns in the metadata data dictionary file and their description 

Column name	Description
Variable	A description of each variable published in the time series file. The beginning variables are information about the year and local authority, followed by all numerical variables submitted by local authorities
Data_Type	Type of variable (date/string/numeric). This can help correctly load the data
Description	A description of the variable
Start	The date of the first statistical release where data was collected for that variable. Dates refer to the published period only. For variables with a start date at the beginning of the time series period (currently 201903), these may have been collected previously, and their start date will be amended when previous years are added to the time series.
End	The date of the last statistical release where data was collected for that variable. For variables that are still currently being collected, end date will be null.
Form_Name	The associated COR section which the variable is sourced from
Row_Number	Row number in the current year form
Column_Number	Column number in the current year form
Notes	Details of the changes to variables, for example if it was merged or split from another variable. There are no such cases yet in the present dataset.

3.3 Data notes 

This provides a list of comments about the data. If there are any notes or caveats concerning particular data points, they will be listed in this sheet. 

3.4 Local authorities 

This contains a full list of all local authorities represented in the publication. Additionally, class and region data for each local authority is provided in the respective columns. Table 3 provides full details on the fields included in this worksheet and an explanation of them. 

Table 3: columns in the meta data local authorities file and their description 

Column name	Description
LA_LGF_Code	A unique identifier for each local authority.
ONS_Code	A unique identifier for each local authority.
LA_Name	Name of the local authority.
Class	Class which the local authority falls under.
Subclass	Subclass which the local authority falls under. Only detailed for class ‘Other’, same as class for the rest.
Region	Region of the UK in which the local authority is located.
Start	The first collection period for which the local authority existed.  Dates refer to the published period only. For local authorities with a start date at the beginning of the time series period (currently 201903), their start date may be amended when previous years are added to the time series.
End	The final collection period for which the local authority existed.
Notes	Details of mergers and other changes to remit of local authorities.

Users may use this worksheet to confirm the authorities reporting in any given year. In some instances it may also be possible to use the information contained in the notes column to identify mergers and extend their time series further. This will only be possible where the mergers have involved the combining of two or more authorities directly, rather than in cases where one higher level authority is split in the creation of the new authorities. 

This file contains both an LA_LGF_Code variable and an ONS_Code variable. The LGF code was created for LGF data collections in MHCLG (and predecessor departments) to ensure that they met the collections’ needs. So there are cases where ONS codes do not exist for the data that are being collected or don’t exist at the time the data are being collected for example some pension funds. However, within capital outturn, all authorities have both an ONS and LGF code. Therefore, it is less important whether users choose to use the ONS or LGF code. 

3.5 Totals 

This contains a list of totals calculated by summing local authorities, by subclass, class, or altogether to create England-level totals. The information provided has the same structure as that for ‘Local Authorities’, excluding a Start and End date, as totals are always calculated from received submissions.