By the CouncilData research team. Where this guide cites a figure, it comes from our verified dataset of all 350 UK councils — every record source-linked and dated.
Look at an English council tax bill and you will usually see the council's charge split in two: the main element and a line called something like “adult social care”. That second line is the adult social care (ASC) precept, and it explains a lot of the small print — and some of the confusion — around annual rises.
Why it exists
Since 2016, central government has let councils that provide social care raise extra council tax specifically for it, typically up to 2% a year on top of the core referendum limit. It was designed as a stopgap for care funding; a decade on it is effectively permanent.
The compounding trap
The precept compounds in a way bills don't make obvious: each year's percentage is calculated on the whole previous bill, then folded into the base. Two councils showing the same “4.99%” rise (2.99% core + 2% ASC) can therefore carry different ASC cash amounts depending on when they started charging it and whether they ever skipped a year. This is why we record each council's own wording — you will see ASC notes on individual council pages wherever the council publishes the split.
Reading your own bill
To see what you are actually paying: find your council's page via the band checker, note the headline for your band, then check the council's source page (linked on every page) for the ASC split. And remember the precept only applies in England — Scottish bills have their own quirk, and Welsh councils fund social care within the main charge. For how the rest of your bill stacks up, see how bands and precepts work.
223 of the 350 councils in our verified 2026/27 dataset publish an explicit adult social care element note alongside their charges — each is recorded verbatim on the council's page here.
The precept applies only in England (all 296 English billing authorities are covered in the dataset); Wales funds social care within the main charge and Scotland's system differs again.
Figures computed from the CouncilData verified dataset (2026/27) and official OGL statistical releases; regenerated with every data refresh.
Which councils charge the adult social care precept?+
English councils with social care responsibility — county councils, unitaries, metropolitan and London boroughs. In CouncilData's verified 2026/27 dataset, 223 of 350 UK councils publish an explicit ASC note with their charges, each recorded on the council's page.
What is the adult social care precept?+
An extra percentage that English councils responsible for social care may add to council tax, on top of the core increase, ring-fenced for adult social care. It has been available since 2016 and appears as its own line on bills.
Is the precept included in the figures on CouncilData?+
Yes — headline totals include it, because councils include it in their published band tables. Where a council states the precept element separately, we record that note on the council's page.
Do all councils charge it?+
Only councils with adult social care responsibility (county councils, unitaries, metropolitan and London boroughs) can charge it, and a few choose not to take the full amount in a given year.