Adult social care: every unitary authoritie ranked by spend per resident
61 councils · median £519.44/person · mean £520.07/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isles of Scilly | Ind | 2,366 | £2.3m | £956.04 | +84% | |
| 2 | Isle of Wight | Ref | 141,660 | £104.2m | £735.72 | +42% | |
| 3 | Halton | Ref | 131,543 | £88.4m | £672.15 | +29% | |
| 4 | Cornwall | Ref | 583,289 | £382.8m | £656.35 | +26% | |
| 5 | Westmorland and Furness | LD | 230,185 | £143.1m | £621.67 | +20% | |
| 6 | Blackpool | Lab | 144,191 | £87.8m | £608.86 | +17% | |
| 7 | North Yorkshire | Con | 635,270 | £382.2m | £601.57 | +16% | |
| 8 | Brighton and Hove | Lab | 283,870 | £170.6m | £601.05 | +16% | |
| 9 | Hartlepool | Ref | 98,180 | £58.8m | £599.04 | +15% | |
| 10 | East Riding of Yorkshire | Con | 355,884 | £210.7m | £592.04 | +14% | |
| 11 | Cheshire West and Chester | Lab | 371,652 | £219.3m | £590.18 | +14% | |
| 12 | Warrington | Lab | 215,391 | £125.4m | £582.25 | +12% | |
| 13 | Dorset | LD | 389,947 | £227.0m | £582.14 | +12% | |
| 14 | Southampton | Ref | 259,424 | £150.3m | £579.29 | +12% | |
| 15 | South Gloucestershire | Con | 306,332 | £175.6m | £573.39 | +10% | |
| 16 | Bristol, City of | Green | 494,399 | £280.2m | £566.78 | +9% | |
| 17 | Leicester | Lab | 388,348 | £219.0m | £563.93 | +9% | |
| 18 | Shropshire | Con | 332,455 | £185.9m | £559.30 | +8% | |
| 19 | Middlesbrough | Lab | 156,161 | £87.3m | £559.03 | +8% | |
| 20 | North Somerset | Con | 224,578 | £123.5m | £550.07 | +6% | |
| 21 | Herefordshire, County of | Con | 191,047 | £104.8m | £548.70 | +6% | |
| 22 | Somerset | LD | 588,328 | £315.3m | £535.92 | +3% | |
| 23 | Torbay | Con | 140,126 | £74.4m | £530.84 | +2% | |
| 24 | Blackburn with Darwen | Ref | 162,540 | £86.2m | £530.47 | +2% | |
| 25 | Darlington | Lab | 112,489 | £59.6m | £530.21 | +2% | |
| 26 | Bedford | Con | 194,976 | £103.4m | £530.08 | +2% | |
| 27 | Telford and Wrekin | Lab | 195,952 | £103.0m | £525.55 | +1% | |
| 28 | Bracknell Forest | Lab | 130,806 | £68.5m | £523.90 | +1% | |
| 29 | Plymouth | Ref | 272,067 | £142.2m | £522.71 | +1% | |
| 30 | North Lincolnshire | Con | 171,336 | £89.0m | £519.68 | +0% | |
| 31 | Kingston upon Hull, City of | Ref | 275,401 | £143.1m | £519.44 | 0% | |
| 32 | Cheshire East | Con | 421,298 | £217.4m | £516.11 | -1% | |
| 33 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | LD | 408,967 | £210.9m | £515.73 | -1% | |
| 34 | Nottingham | Lab | 331,077 | £169.9m | £513.22 | -1% | |
| 35 | Rutland | LD | 41,443 | £21.2m | £512.41 | -1% | |
| 36 | West Berkshire | LD | 165,112 | £83.1m | £503.19 | -3% | |
| 37 | Redcar and Cleveland | Lab | 139,228 | £69.6m | £500.14 | -4% | |
| 38 | Swindon | Con | — | 243,875 | £120.0m | £492.01 | -5% |
| 39 | Bath and North East Somerset | LD | 200,028 | £98.0m | £489.73 | -6% | |
| 40 | Central Bedfordshire | Ind | 315,877 | £154.5m | £489.08 | -6% | |
| 41 | Wokingham | LD | 187,200 | £90.5m | £483.50 | -7% | |
| 42 | Northumberland | Con | 331,420 | £159.1m | £480.03 | -8% | |
| 43 | York | Lab | 209,301 | £98.4m | £470.12 | -9% | |
| 44 | Southend-on-Sea | Ref | 185,256 | £84.8m | £457.53 | -12% | |
| 45 | North East Lincolnshire | Ref | 159,911 | £72.9m | £455.63 | -12% | |
| 46 | Milton Keynes | LD | — | 305,884 | £138.6m | £453.11 | -13% |
| 47 | Stockton-on-Tees | Con | 206,800 | £93.4m | £451.84 | -13% | |
| 48 | Reading | Green | 182,907 | £82.6m | £451.50 | -13% | |
| 49 | Buckinghamshire | Con | 578,772 | £255.5m | £441.42 | -15% | |
| 50 | West Northamptonshire | Ref | — | 439,811 | £192.7m | £438.14 | -16% |
| 51 | Portsmouth | LD | 214,321 | £93.3m | £435.38 | -16% | |
| 52 | Stoke-on-Trent | Lab | 270,425 | £117.7m | £435.24 | -16% | |
| 53 | County Durham | Lab | 538,011 | £234.0m | £435.01 | -16% | |
| 54 | Medway | Lab | 292,655 | £125.1m | £427.46 | -18% | |
| 55 | Luton | Lab | 239,090 | £102.0m | £426.65 | -18% | |
| 56 | Windsor and Maidenhead | LD | 158,943 | £67.8m | £426.31 | -18% | |
| 57 | North Northamptonshire | Con | 373,871 | £155.5m | £415.80 | -20% | |
| 58 | Peterborough | Con | 223,655 | £92.4m | £412.95 | -21% | |
| 59 | Wiltshire | LD | 523,700 | £215.7m | £411.80 | -21% | |
| 60 | Derby | Lab | 274,149 | £108.7m | £396.35 | -24% | |
| 61 | Thurrock | Ref | — | 180,989 | £39.5m | £218.51 | -58% |
What this shows. Net revenue expenditure on the adult social care bucket from each council’s 2024-25 Revenue Outturn (RO) submission to MHCLG, divided by ONS mid-year population. Higher per-head doesn’t imply waste — it can reflect demographic need (e.g. more older residents), rurality, or policy choice (e.g. retaining in-house services rather than contracting out). Lower per-head doesn’t imply efficiency — some councils have moved costs to fees, grants, or a ringfenced account.
Caveats. Councils under MHCLG suppression for 2024-25 don’t appear here (Birmingham, Slough, Cumberland and others — see their council card for the reason). Comparisons across the tier line don’t make sense, which is why this table is filtered to one council type at a time. Source: MHCLG Local Authority Revenue Expenditure and Financing.