Ever wondered how your council tax gets spent?

In the run up to local elections on May 6, the Local Government Information Unit, a local authority membership organisation, has compiled a break down of just that.

So what can you get in Trafford for £100?

Using data collected from the Government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, for every £100 of council tax you pay, you can see exactly where the cash goes.

The highest amount of money is pumped into the borough’s education system – which isn’t too surprising when Trafford’s schools are so sought after.

A total of £52.55 for every £100 goes into Trafford’s education services – including paying teaching staff, special educational needs facilities and school supplies.

The next highest amount is for Adult Social Care, including providing live-in care or care at home for the elderly or those with disabilities.

A total of £22.02 in every £100 is spent on those services.

Next comes children’s services – which Trafford council spends £12.47 in every £100 on.

Children’s services include support and protection for any children at risk of harm and providing care and accommodation for looked after children.

The next highest amount Trafford council spends your money on is public health.

The local authority spends £4.28 in every £100 on all things promoting healthier lifestyles – including campaigns to promote a balanced diet, more exercise and stopping smoking.

Next it’s Trafford council’s running costs – which includes administration costs and council building maintenance.

In total, the borough’s authority spends just £2.91 in each £100 on this.

Trafford then spends its next highest amount on cultural services – which it spends £2.52 in every £100 on.

Cultural services include events like Pride in Trafford.

It also goes towards supporting local cultural organisations and art projects.

The council then spends just £1.94 in every £100 on environmental services – this includes everything under its contract with contractors Amey PLC, including emptying the borough’s bins, cutting its hedgerows and managing its grass verges.

Next, the authority spends £1.37 of every £100 on highways and transport costs – that includes resurfacing roads and filling in potholes.

The borough’s housing services cost Trafford council just £0.75 in every £100 it has to spend – including maintaining its existing housing stock, which Trafford Housing Trust has largely taken over the management of.

Other unspecified costs take around £0.13 of each £100, while planning and development costs account for around £0.68.

All of this data is submitted to the Government by councils every year and these cost break downs are based on local authorities’ annual General Fund Revenue Account spending in 2019-20.

The expenditure was determined by calculating the percentage of spend on each service area out of the total spend.

The percentages were then rounded to the nearest decimal place and converted into British currency.

Because of rounding, the total sum of the figures in the infographic may not be exactly £100.