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Somerset: what’s happening where you live

What the council itself has published on the five things it most shapes for a household: homes, getting about, the bill, the local environment and schools. Each line is quoted from the council’s own document, with the link. This page says what was decided or proposed; it never says whether it was right.

This page is built from official registers only; the council’s own publications have not been read yet, and every line below says so where that leaves a gap.

Somerset Council: Unitary authority (unitary), England, South West. GOV.UK lists it as a unitary council. ONS code E06000066.

Council website

Housing

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Transport

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Council tax

Band D set by Somerset for 2026–27: £1,950.89 of a £2,560.59 total bill in the area. MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (Open Government Licence).

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Environment

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Education

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Changes to schools in this area recorded by the Department for Education Updated automatically

No school here is currently recorded as proposed to open or close.

In the last twelve months: 4 opened (2 fresh start, 2 academy converter), 6 closed (2 fresh start, 2 academy converter, 2 result of amalgamation/merger)

Get Information about Schools, DfE’s register of every school in England, refreshed daily (Open Government Licence). The register’s own reason is shown: most closures and openings are a school becoming an academy, which changes who runs it, not whether it is there.

What the council plans to spend, 2026–27

The budget for each service, as Somerset reported it to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The same headings, in the same order, for every council in England.

Somerset: budget by service, 2026 to 2027
ServiceBudget
Education services£387.3 million
Highways and transport services£23.5 million
Children's social care£172.8 million
Adult social care£299.8 million
Public health£30.1 million
Housing services (general fund only)£18.3 million
Cultural and related services£14.6 million
Environmental and regulatory services£88.8 million
Planning and development services£8.6 million
Police servicesnone budgeted
Fire and rescue servicesnone budgeted
Central services£24.1 million
Other services£11.7 million
Total service expenditure£1,079.7 million

Net current expenditure: net of sales, fees and charges; spending funded by the NHS, such as through the Better Care Fund, is excluded.A minus figure means the service’s income is budgeted to be more than its spending. “None budgeted” usually means another body runs that service here. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Revenue Account Budget 2026 to 2027, individual local authority data (part 1), updated 11 June 2026 (Open Government Licence).

Life in Somerset: the official facts

Facts about the people who live here: their pay, homes, health and more, from official statistics. They describe the place, not you, and every council gets the same list. Each shows when it was measured.

Show the figures for:

Showing: Somerset.

People living here
590,972 people 30 June 2025 · Office for National StatisticsAn official estimate of everyone who lives in the area, in the middle of the year.
Typical age
47 years 30 June 2025 · Office for National StatisticsHalf the people who live here are younger than this and half are older.
Money to live on, per person, per year
£25,473 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage household income per person after taxes, with benefits added: what people have to spend or save.
Typical weekly pay, before tax
£584 30 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsFor employees who live here: half earn more than this each week, half earn less.
Children growing up in poverty
23.9% April 2024 to March 2025 · Department for Work and PensionsThe share of children under 16 in families on low incomes once housing costs are paid.
People claiming unemployment-related benefits
2.5% 2025 · Office for National StatisticsThe share of people aged 16 to 64 claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit while looking for work.
Average price of a home
£282,498 August 2026 · HM Land RegistryThe average price of a home here in the month shown.
How many years of pay a home costs
7.9 times yearly pay 1 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsA typical home's price divided by the typical yearly pay of people who live here.
Years in good health: women
63.0 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsHow many years a girl born here can expect to live in good health, at current rates.
Years in good health: men
62.8 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsHow many years a boy born here can expect to live in good health, at current rates.
Greenhouse gases, per person
6.6 tonnes per person 2024 · Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroEmissions from the area in a year, shared out per resident, in tonnes of carbon dioxide or its equivalent.
Homes and businesses that can get the fastest broadband
75.7% 1 January 2026 · OfcomThe share of addresses that can get gigabit broadband (1,000 Mbps).
Public chargers for electric cars
136.7 per 100,000 people 1 July 2026 · Department for Transport, sourced from ZapmapPublic charging points at all speeds, for every 100,000 people.
Businesses trading here
22,980 businesses 2024 · Office for National StatisticsBusinesses with sales or staff in the year.

More figures for Somerset from the ONS

Gathered by the Office for National Statistics in Explore Local Statistics (Open Government Licence), refreshed daily. Some figures aren’t published for every nation, so the list can be shorter outside England.

Who runs the council

110 seats in 2026. Run by: Liberal Democrats, with a majority. Open Council Data (public domain).

Councillors by party: Liberal Democrats 62, Conservative and Unionist 31, Labour Party 5, Green Party (E&W) 5, Independent / Other 4, Reform UK 3.

Next scheduled council election: 6 May 2027.

All 110 councillors, by ward
  • Caroline Ellis (Liberal Democrats) — Bishop's Hull & Taunton West
  • John Hunt (Independent / Other) — Bishop's Hull & Taunton West
  • Ross Henley (Liberal Democrats) — Blackdown & Neroche
  • Sarah Wakefield (Liberal Democrats) — Blackdown & Neroche
  • Hayward Burt (Conservative and Unionist) — Blackmoor Vale
  • Nicola Clark (Liberal Democrats) — Blackmoor Vale
  • Bob Filmer (Conservative and Unionist) — Brent
  • Tony Grimes (Conservative and Unionist) — Brent
  • Andy Dingwall (Conservative and Unionist) — Bridgwater East & Bawdrip
  • Diogo Rodrigues (Conservative and Unionist) — Bridgwater East & Bawdrip
  • Hilary Bruce (Labour Party) — Bridgwater North & Central
  • Leigh Redman (Labour Party) — Bridgwater North & Central
  • Brian Smedley (Labour Party) — Bridgwater South
  • Kathy Pearce (Labour Party) — Bridgwater South
  • Gill Slocombe (Conservative and Unionist) — Bridgwater West
  • Lance Duddridge (Conservative and Unionist) — Bridgwater West
  • Jeny Snell (Liberal Democrats) — Brympton
  • Peter Seib (Liberal Democrats) — Brympton
  • Mike Murphy (Liberal Democrats) — Burnham on Sea North
  • Peter Clayton (Conservative and Unionist) — Burnham on Sea North
  • Brian Bolt (Conservative and Unionist) — Cannington
  • Mike Caswell (Conservative and Unionist) — Cannington
  • Henry Hobhouse (Liberal Democrats) — Castle Cary
  • Kevin Messenger (Liberal Democrats) — Castle Cary
  • Jenny Kenton (Liberal Democrats) — Chard North
  • Martin Wale (Conservative and Unionist) — Chard North
  • Connor Payne (Conservative and Unionist) — Chard South
  • Jason Baker (Liberal Democrats) — Chard South
  • Ben Ferguson (Liberal Democrats) — Cheddar
  • Pauline Ham (Liberal Democrats) — Cheddar
  • Mike Hewitson (Liberal Democrats) — Coker
  • Oliver Patrick (Liberal Democrats) — Coker
  • Dawn Johnson (Liberal Democrats) — Comeytrowe & Trull
  • Habib Farbahi (Liberal Democrats) — Comeytrowe & Trull
  • Mike Best (Liberal Democrats) — Crewkerne
  • Steve Ashton (Liberal Democrats) — Crewkerne
  • Mike Stanton (Liberal Democrats) — Curry Rivel & Langport
  • Richard Wilkins (Liberal Democrats) — Curry Rivel & Langport
  • Frances Nicholson (Conservative and Unionist) — Dulverton & Exmoor
  • Steven Pugsley (Conservative and Unionist) — Dulverton & Exmoor
  • Cara Strom (Liberal Democrats) — Dunster
  • Marcus Kravis (Liberal Democrats) — Dunster
  • Helen Kay (Green Party (E&W)) — Frome East
  • Shane Collins (Green Party (E&W)) — Frome East
  • Adam Boyden (Liberal Democrats) — Frome North
  • Dawn Denton (Conservative and Unionist) — Frome North
  • Martin Dimery (Green Party (E&W)) — Frome West
  • Michael Dunk (Green Party (E&W)) — Frome West
  • Ewan Cameron (Liberal Democrats) — Glastonbury
  • Susannah Hart (Conservative and Unionist) — Glastonbury
  • Alistair Hendry (Conservative and Unionist) — Highbridge & Burnham South
  • John Cook-Woodman (Reform UK) — Highbridge & Burnham South
  • Mark Healey (Conservative and Unionist) — Huntspill
  • Suria Aujla (Conservative and Unionist) — Huntspill
  • Sue Osborne (Conservative and Unionist) — Ilminster
  • Val Keitch (Liberal Democrats) — Ilminster
  • Harry Munt (Liberal Democrats) — King Alfred
  • Matthew Martin (Liberal Democrats) — King Alfred
  • Andy Sully (Liberal Democrats) — Lydeard
  • Mike Rigby (Liberal Democrats) — Lydeard
  • Emily Pearlstone (Liberal Democrats) — Martock
  • John Bailey (Liberal Democrats) — Martock
  • Barry Clarke (Conservative and Unionist) — Mendip Central and East
  • Philip Ham (Conservative and Unionist) — Mendip Central and East
  • Edric Hobbs (Liberal Democrats) — Mendip Hills
  • Sam Phripp (Liberal Democrats) — Mendip Hills
  • Claire Sully (Liberal Democrats) — Mendip South
  • Rob Reed (Liberal Democrats) — Mendip South
  • Heather Shearer (Liberal Democrats) — Mendip West
  • Ros Wyke (Liberal Democrats) — Mendip West
  • Andy Hadley (Conservative and Unionist) — Minehead
  • Mandy Chilcott (Conservative and Unionist) — Minehead
  • David Fothergill (Conservative and Unionist) — Monkton & North Curry
  • Norman Cavill (Conservative and Unionist) — Monkton & North Curry
  • Alan Bradford (Conservative and Unionist) — North Petherton
  • Bill Revans (Liberal Democrats) — North Petherton
  • Derek Perry (Liberal Democrats) — Rowbarton & Staplegrove
  • Nick O'Donnell (Liberal Democrats) — Rowbarton & Staplegrove
  • Bente Height (Reform UK) — Shepton Mallet
  • Martin Lovell (Liberal Democrats) — Shepton Mallet
  • Stephen Page (Liberal Democrats) — Somerton
  • Tim Kerley (Liberal Democrats) — Somerton
  • Adam Dance (Liberal Democrats) — South Petherton & Islemoor
  • Jo Roundell Greene (Liberal Democrats) — South Petherton & Islemoor
  • Liz Leyshon (Liberal Democrats) — Street
  • Simon Carswell (Liberal Democrats) — Street
  • Federica Smith-Roberts (Liberal Democrats) — Taunton East
  • Simon Coles (Liberal Democrats) — Taunton East
  • Lee Baker (Liberal Democrats) — Taunton North
  • Tom Deakin (Liberal Democrats) — Taunton North
  • Fran Smith (Liberal Democrats) — Taunton South
  • Hazel Prior-Sankey (Independent / Other) — Taunton South
  • Dave Mansell (Green Party (E&W)) — Upper Tone
  • Gwil Wren (Independent / Other) — Upper Tone
  • Hugh Davies (Independent / Other) — Watchet & Stogursey
  • Rosemary Woods (Conservative and Unionist) — Watchet & Stogursey
  • Andrew Govier (Labour Party) — Wellington
  • Marcus Barr (Reform UK) — Wellington
  • Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrats) — Wells
  • Theo Butt Philip (Liberal Democrats) — Wells
  • Lucy Trimnell (Conservative and Unionist) — Wincanton & Bruton
  • Tom Power (Conservative and Unionist) — Wincanton & Bruton
  • Andy Kendall (Liberal Democrats) — Yeovil Central
  • David Woan (Liberal Democrats) — Yeovil Central
  • Graham Oakes (Liberal Democrats) — Yeovil East
  • Tony Lock (Liberal Democrats) — Yeovil East
  • Andy Soughton (Liberal Democrats) — Yeovil South
  • Faye Purbrick (Conservative and Unionist) — Yeovil South
  • Evie Potts-Jones (Liberal Democrats) — Yeovil West
  • Wes Read (Liberal Democrats) — Yeovil West

Each councillor’s register of interests is on the council’s own website; we have not yet located the page. Councillors from Open Council Data as recorded after the May 2026 elections; a by-election since then may have changed one seat. Attendance and allowances are not shown.

This council’s meeting papers are not yet read automatically, so decisions and motions are not listed here; they are on the council’s website.

Write to your councillors → WriteToThem (mySociety) finds them from your postcode; nothing is sent through this site.

Cite this page

Harvard style. Every figure on the page also names its original source, which is usually the better thing to cite.

Every council page has the same five headings in the same order. Sources are the council’s own publications and official statistics. Council list: mySociety, UK Local Authorities (CC BY 4.0) and WhatDoTheyKnow authorities (CC BY-SA 4.0); council websites, tiers and service links: GOV.UK (Open Government Licence); codes: ONS Code History Database (Open Government Licence). Corrections: hello@whatsittome.org.