Welcome to Lancashire County Council’s Budget Simulator

How we spend the money we have affects the services we can provide across the county.

Like all councils, we're facing tough financial challenges. Each year we must balance our budget so we can continue to deliver essential services. But with less funding and rising costs, the money we have to spend on services is going down. We’re working to make services more efficient, but we still need to find at least £100 million of savings over the next three years. This figure assumes the council applies the maximum permitted annual council tax increase of 4.99%, however this is yet to be agreed and will be decided by our cabinet in February 2026.

While the council does hold reserves and uses them occasionally when there is a strong business case, the council must keep reserves at a safe level to meet future commitments and unexpected events, using them only in a planned way to support long-term financial sustainability.

Every reduction or increase in spending has consequences. For every council, cuts mean fewer services or changes to how they are delivered. As part of our consultation, we’re inviting you to try balancing our budget and see firsthand how challenging these decisions can be.

The simulator is for illustrative purposes only. It does not show the impact on every individual service the council provides, but gives an overview of the main areas of spending, and illustrates some tangible impacts.

Your choices in the simulator won’t decide the actual budget. If you choose to submit your budget within this simulator tool, it may help us to understand what matters most to residents. We will share these insights with councillors as part of the process of setting next year's budget. We will not ask you for any personal details.

Figures are based on projected income and expenditure.

To find out more about our financial challenges, our budget proposals, and how to have your say on the budget, you can visit our website.

How to Use the Budget Simulator

The budget simulator is designed to help you explore how changes to spending affect services and overall council finances. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Adjusting Budgets

• Use the sliders to alter spending on different services.
• As you move a slider, the budget amount updates automatically.

2. Seeing the Consequences

• On the right-hand side, you’ll see the impact of your changes. This updates in real time as you adjust the sliders.
• Want more detail? Click the “More” link under each consequence to read more information about the effects on services.

3. Understanding Income and Expenditure

• Look for the information button (ℹ). This explains:
  • Income sources (e.g., council tax)
  • What our services do
• Use this to understand where money comes from and how it’s spent.

4. Explore and Experiment

• There’s no single “right” answer, try different scenarios to see how priorities affect outcomes.
• When you have balanced your budget, you can click on the 'submit' button to share it with us.