Holiday activities and food and local authority capacity support: 2026 financial year expected allocations
Updated 17 December 2025
Applies to England
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1. Summary
Holiday activities and food (HAF) programme funding, including the local authority capacity support funding (to support LAs to deliver a sufficient and sustainable school aged childcare system), is part of the wider children’s, youth and families grant. It is delivered through the local government finance settlement (LGFS) in the 2026 to 2027 financial year, in line with the government’s commitment to simplify the local government funding landscape. This includes reducing the number of funding streams to local authorities and bringing together existing revenue grants that fund similar services into consolidated grants.
HAF funding is ringfenced to protect programme spend. The 3-year multi-year funding settlement provides greater stability and certainty for local authorities, enabling longer-term planning and investment to drive more effective and efficient delivery.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s overall allocations for the children, youth and families grant, including the ringfenced holiday activities and food allocations, will be available within the provisional local government finance settlement.
In this guidance we provide a further breakdown of expected allocations for HAF and school aged children programmes.
The final allocations will be available in the Local government finance settlement in February 2026.
2. Expected spend breakdown for financial year 2026 to 2027
This breakdown sets out:
- the total HAF funding, as published in the provisional LGFS
- the expected spend totals for the HAF programme (supporting children from low income families during school holiday periods)
- the expected spend totals for the LA capacity funding (supporting delivery of a sufficient and sustainable school aged childcare system)
Guidance for the Holiday activities and food programme and the school aged childcare programme are available.
| Local authority (LA) | HAF funding total for 2026 to 2027 (as presented through LGFS allocations) | Of which: expected HAF programme and admin spend | Of which: expected LA capacity spend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | £1,188,630 | £1,118,750 | £69,880 |
| Barnet | £1,295,020 | £1,211,980 | £83,040 |
| Barnsley | £1,038,940 | £979,980 | £58,960 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | £481,950 | £444,570 | £37,380 |
| Bedford | £687,970 | £643,400 | £44,570 |
| Bexley | £809,220 | £753,760 | £55,460 |
| Birmingham | £8,806,290 | £8,385,020 | £421,270 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £723,500 | £679,800 | £43,700 |
| Blackpool | £827,140 | £786,510 | £40,630 |
| Bolton | £1,553,630 | £1,464,670 | £88,960 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council | £1,049,620 | £978,440 | £71,180 |
| Bracknell Forest | £267,870 | £239,810 | £28,060 |
| Bradford | £2,944,840 | £2,781,910 | £162,930 |
| Brent | £1,123,370 | £1,053,940 | £69,430 |
| Brighton and Hove | £804,730 | £756,560 | £48,170 |
| Bristol City of | £1,872,630 | £1,767,640 | £104,990 |
| Bromley | £836,760 | £773,410 | £63,350 |
| Buckinghamshire | £1,384,480 | £1,278,140 | £106,340 |
| Bury | £731,790 | £686,640 | £45,150 |
| Calderdale | £937,560 | £882,710 | £54,850 |
| Cambridgeshire | £2,043,590 | £1,910,650 | £132,940 |
| Camden | £827,690 | £788,240 | £39,450 |
| Central Bedfordshire | £696,800 | £639,740 | £57,060 |
| Cheshire East | £937,230 | £865,960 | £71,270 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | £1,032,700 | £962,650 | £70,050 |
| City of London | £27,220 | £20,200 | £7,020 |
| Cornwall | £1,684,160 | £1,576,670 | £107,490 |
| Coventry | £1,667,120 | £1,571,090 | £96,030 |
| Croydon | £1,655,340 | £1,562,610 | £92,730 |
| Cumberland | £854,050 | £798,640 | £55,410 |
| Darlington | £473,460 | £443,680 | £29,780 |
| Derby | £1,588,780 | £1,505,800 | £82,980 |
| Derbyshire | £3,100,160 | £2,924,630 | £175,530 |
| Devon | £2,042,870 | £1,905,450 | £137,420 |
| Doncaster | £1,415,220 | £1,335,630 | £79,590 |
| Dorset | £949,840 | £885,990 | £63,850 |
| Dudley | £1,312,190 | £1,235,090 | £77,100 |
| Durham | £2,341,830 | £2,216,710 | £125,120 |
| Ealing | £1,426,920 | £1,344,780 | £82,140 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | £929,310 | £867,400 | £61,910 |
| East Sussex | £1,673,430 | £1,570,220 | £103,210 |
| Enfield | £1,726,720 | £1,634,460 | £92,260 |
| Essex | £4,507,560 | £4,201,710 | £305,850 |
| Gateshead | £821,140 | £774,860 | £46,280 |
| Gloucestershire | £1,740,140 | £1,618,090 | £122,050 |
| Greenwich | £1,287,190 | £1,215,730 | £71,460 |
| Hackney | £1,349,380 | £1,284,490 | £64,890 |
| Halton | £727,030 | £690,110 | £36,920 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £540,240 | £509,250 | £30,990 |
| Hampshire | £3,883,680 | £3,620,130 | £263,550 |
| Haringey | £932,710 | £877,420 | £55,290 |
| Harrow | £704,720 | £654,860 | £49,860 |
| Hartlepool | £586,090 | £557,020 | £29,070 |
| Havering | £868,160 | £809,040 | £59,120 |
| Herefordshire | £481,540 | £445,740 | £35,800 |
| Hertfordshire | £3,132,800 | £2,893,040 | £239,760 |
| Hillingdon | £1,128,360 | £1,056,540 | £71,820 |
| Hounslow | £1,014,180 | £951,280 | £62,900 |
| Isle of Wight | £417,440 | £387,950 | £29,490 |
| Isles Of Scilly | £10,660 | £8,750 | £1,910 |
| Islington | £992,840 | £945,990 | £46,850 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £452,440 | £425,580 | £26,860 |
| Kent | £6,129,730 | £5,758,640 | £371,090 |
| Kingston upon Hull City of | £1,478,390 | £1,400,630 | £77,760 |
| Kingston upon Thames | £410,820 | £374,430 | £36,390 |
| Kirklees | £1,841,690 | £1,734,130 | £107,560 |
| Knowsley | £906,800 | £862,200 | £44,600 |
| Lambeth | £1,245,400 | £1,182,310 | £63,090 |
| Lancashire | £4,478,640 | £4,203,440 | £275,200 |
| Leeds | £3,507,310 | £3,301,950 | £205,360 |
| Leicester | £1,691,990 | £1,594,300 | £97,690 |
| Leicestershire | £1,759,080 | £1,628,290 | £130,790 |
| Lewisham | £1,062,870 | £1,001,940 | £60,930 |
| Lincolnshire | £2,980,730 | £2,809,360 | £171,370 |
| Liverpool | £2,554,330 | £2,420,000 | £134,330 |
| Luton | £1,113,980 | £1,047,870 | £66,110 |
| Manchester | £4,380,160 | £4,172,720 | £207,440 |
| Medway | £1,278,640 | £1,201,860 | £76,780 |
| Merton | £686,850 | £645,910 | £40,940 |
| Middlesbrough | £1,106,040 | £1,053,170 | £52,870 |
| Milton Keynes | £1,244,650 | £1,167,870 | £76,780 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £1,718,500 | £1,634,170 | £84,330 |
| Newham | £2,291,610 | £2,176,450 | £115,160 |
| Norfolk | £2,787,210 | £2,613,470 | £173,740 |
| North East Lincolnshire | £789,450 | £747,220 | £42,230 |
| North Lincolnshire | £740,800 | £699,350 | £41,450 |
| North Northamptonshire | £1,180,470 | £1,102,190 | £78,280 |
| North Somerset | £539,340 | £497,870 | £41,470 |
| North Tyneside | £848,770 | £799,990 | £48,780 |
| North Yorkshire | £1,514,320 | £1,407,760 | £106,560 |
| Northumberland | £1,047,510 | £982,970 | £64,540 |
| Nottingham | £1,837,710 | £1,744,630 | £93,080 |
| Nottinghamshire | £2,879,110 | £2,696,970 | £182,140 |
| Oldham | £1,579,640 | £1,496,170 | £83,470 |
| Oxfordshire | £1,648,810 | £1,523,900 | £124,910 |
| Peterborough | £1,231,700 | £1,163,340 | £68,360 |
| Plymouth | £1,007,890 | £948,300 | £59,590 |
| Portsmouth | £1,005,350 | £952,530 | £52,820 |
| Reading | £526,670 | £491,510 | £35,160 |
| Redbridge | £1,077,510 | £1,004,250 | £73,260 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | £686,430 | £649,850 | £36,580 |
| Richmond upon Thames | £426,950 | £388,040 | £38,910 |
| Rochdale | £1,272,770 | £1,203,890 | £68,880 |
| Rotherham | £1,312,550 | £1,238,550 | £74,000 |
| Rutland | £103,580 | £88,790 | £14,790 |
| Salford | £1,418,850 | £1,344,490 | £74,360 |
| Sandwell | £2,247,510 | £2,131,670 | £115,840 |
| Sefton | £1,061,770 | £998,950 | £62,820 |
| Sheffield | £2,800,450 | £2,652,380 | £148,070 |
| Shropshire | £753,030 | £700,030 | £53,000 |
| Slough | £687,980 | £642,730 | £45,250 |
| Solihull | £985,300 | £925,760 | £59,540 |
| Somerset | £1,554,200 | £1,451,380 | £102,820 |
| South Gloucestershire | £657,370 | £606,040 | £51,330 |
| South Tyneside | £763,190 | £722,660 | £40,530 |
| Southampton | £1,304,090 | £1,237,110 | £66,980 |
| Southend-on-Sea | £707,440 | £663,140 | £44,300 |
| Southwark | £1,530,370 | £1,453,700 | £76,670 |
| St. Helens | £760,720 | £717,170 | £43,550 |
| Staffordshire | £2,612,960 | £2,438,400 | £174,560 |
| Stockport | £938,070 | £875,880 | £62,190 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | £909,260 | £857,480 | £51,780 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £1,660,600 | £1,577,060 | £83,540 |
| Suffolk | £2,320,820 | £2,173,470 | £147,350 |
| Sunderland | £1,293,230 | £1,222,860 | £70,370 |
| Surrey | £2,448,580 | £2,250,600 | £197,980 |
| Sutton | £648,580 | £599,970 | £48,610 |
| Swindon | £775,110 | £722,850 | £52,260 |
| Tameside | £1,324,980 | £1,254,930 | £70,050 |
| Telford and Wrekin | £904,060 | £852,280 | £51,780 |
| Thurrock | £737,390 | £690,690 | £46,700 |
| Torbay | £512,190 | £480,320 | £31,870 |
| Tower Hamlets | £1,698,340 | £1,615,580 | £82,760 |
| Trafford | £753,880 | £698,490 | £55,390 |
| Wakefield | £1,461,130 | £1,375,110 | £86,020 |
| Walsall | £1,901,050 | £1,804,050 | £97,000 |
| Waltham Forest | £1,053,270 | £989,800 | £63,470 |
| Wandsworth | £889,490 | £839,960 | £49,530 |
| Warrington | £775,860 | £726,700 | £49,160 |
| Warwickshire | £1,975,680 | £1,847,860 | £127,820 |
| West Berkshire | £424,700 | £388,130 | £36,570 |
| West Northamptonshire | £1,182,500 | £1,095,740 | £86,760 |
| West Sussex | £1,936,170 | £1,786,330 | £149,840 |
| Westminster | £768,540 | £731,040 | £37,500 |
| Westmorland & Furness | £486,460 | £446,180 | £40,280 |
| Wigan | £1,405,890 | £1,325,030 | £80,860 |
| Wiltshire | £1,202,860 | £1,114,030 | £88,830 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £362,410 | £328,380 | £34,030 |
| Wirral | £1,521,380 | £1,438,090 | £83,290 |
| Wokingham | £338,250 | £298,640 | £39,610 |
| Wolverhampton | £2,044,630 | £1,945,800 | £98,830 |
| Worcestershire | £1,681,850 | £1,568,490 | £113,360 |
| York | £453,940 | £417,880 | £36,060 |
| Total | £213,900,000 | £201,000,000 | £12,900,000 |