Children’s services: every London borough ranked by spend per resident
33 councils · median £263.91/person · mean £292.63/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Islington | Lab | 223,024 | £95.5m | £428.00 | +62% | |
| 2 | Camden | Lab | 216,943 | £92.2m | £425.02 | +61% | |
| 3 | Lewisham | Green | 301,255 | £120.8m | £401.04 | +52% | |
| 4 | Lambeth | Green | 316,920 | £122.4m | £386.23 | +46% | |
| 5 | Hackney | Green | 266,758 | £97.0m | £363.72 | +38% | |
| 6 | Kensington and Chelsea | Con | 144,518 | £50.3m | £347.73 | +32% | |
| 7 | Barking and Dagenham | Lab | 232,747 | £80.5m | £346.00 | +31% | |
| 8 | Croydon | Con | 409,342 | £139.2m | £340.08 | +29% | |
| 9 | City of London | Ind | 15,111 | £5.1m | £335.58 | +27% | |
| 10 | Southwark | Green | 314,786 | £104.7m | £332.49 | +26% | |
| 11 | Greenwich | Lab | 299,528 | £98.5m | £328.83 | +25% | |
| 12 | Hammersmith and Fulham | Lab | 188,687 | £59.1m | £313.47 | +19% | |
| 13 | Haringey | Green | 263,850 | £82.5m | £312.51 | +18% | |
| 14 | Newham | NEW | 374,523 | £113.8m | £303.76 | +15% | |
| 15 | Sutton | LD | 214,525 | £61.8m | £288.22 | +9% | |
| 16 | Tower Hamlets | ASP | 331,886 | £95.6m | £287.98 | +9% | |
| 17 | Westminster | Con | 209,996 | £55.4m | £263.91 | 0% | |
| 18 | Richmond upon Thames | LD | 196,678 | £51.9m | £263.81 | -0% | |
| 19 | Waltham Forest | Green | 279,737 | £73.1m | £261.47 | -1% | |
| 20 | Enfield | Con | 327,434 | £84.2m | £257.04 | -3% | |
| 21 | Bromley | Con | 335,319 | £86.0m | £256.42 | -3% | |
| 22 | Hounslow | Lab | 299,424 | £76.5m | £255.56 | -3% | |
| 23 | Havering | Ref | 276,274 | £70.5m | £255.07 | -3% | |
| 24 | Kingston upon Thames | LD | 172,692 | £43.3m | £250.98 | -5% | |
| 25 | Brent | Lab | 352,976 | £88.4m | £250.46 | -5% | |
| 26 | Barnet | Lab | 405,050 | £100.7m | £248.49 | -6% | |
| 27 | Bexley | Con | 256,434 | £63.6m | £248.05 | -6% | |
| 28 | Ealing | Lab | 385,985 | £90.6m | £234.72 | -11% | |
| 29 | Merton | Lab | 218,539 | £51.3m | £234.53 | -11% | |
| 30 | Redbridge | Lab | 321,231 | £72.1m | £224.33 | -15% | |
| 31 | Hillingdon | Con | 329,185 | £72.7m | £220.85 | -16% | |
| 32 | Wandsworth | Con | 337,655 | £70.0m | £207.29 | -21% | |
| 33 | Harrow | Con | 270,724 | £49.6m | £183.09 | -31% |
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.