Children’s services: every shire district ranked by spend per resident
9 councils · median £1.68/person · mean £3.82/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spelthorne | LD | 107,074 | £1.8m | £16.56 | +886% | |
| 2 | Woking | LD | 105,679 | £1.0m | £9.09 | +441% | |
| 3 | Harlow | Con | 98,235 | £0.3m | £2.73 | +63% | |
| 4 | Blaby | Con | 108,165 | £0.2m | £1.80 | +7% | |
| 5 | Wealden | LD | 166,908 | £0.3m | £1.68 | 0% | |
| 6 | Wychavon | Con | 138,017 | £0.2m | £1.67 | -1% | |
| 7 | Sevenoaks | Con | 122,748 | £0.1m | £0.49 | -71% | |
| 8 | Charnwood | Con | 188,385 | £0.0m | £0.21 | -88% | |
| 9 | Lancaster | Lab | 145,006 | £0.0m | £0.13 | -92% |
What this shows. Net revenue expenditure on the children’s services 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.