Culture and leisure: every county council ranked by spend per resident
21 councils · median £16.63/person · mean £15.98/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxfordshire | — | — | 763,218 | £15.3m | £20.08 | +21% |
| 2 | Worcestershire | — | — | 621,360 | £12.0m | £19.29 | +16% |
| 3 | Essex | — | — | 1,563,365 | £30.1m | £19.26 | +16% |
| 4 | Gloucestershire | — | — | 669,380 | £12.8m | £19.09 | +15% |
| 5 | Lancashire | — | — | 1,294,914 | £23.7m | £18.27 | +10% |
| 6 | Surrey | — | — | 1,248,649 | £22.5m | £18.04 | +8% |
| 7 | Hampshire | — | — | 1,447,214 | £26.0m | £17.99 | +8% |
| 8 | Nottinghamshire | — | — | 857,013 | £15.3m | £17.86 | +7% |
| 9 | Kent | — | — | 1,639,029 | £28.9m | £17.63 | +6% |
| 10 | Derbyshire | — | — | 822,377 | £13.8m | £16.77 | +1% |
| 11 | Hertfordshire | — | — | 1,236,191 | £20.6m | £16.63 | 0% |
| 12 | East Sussex | — | — | 560,882 | £8.8m | £15.66 | -6% |
| 13 | Suffolk | — | — | 786,231 | £12.2m | £15.54 | -7% |
| 14 | Warwickshire | — | — | 632,207 | £9.7m | £15.37 | -8% |
| 15 | Norfolk | — | — | 940,359 | £14.3m | £15.25 | -8% |
| 16 | Lincolnshire | — | — | 789,502 | £11.3m | £14.30 | -14% |
| 17 | West Sussex | — | — | 915,037 | £12.6m | £13.74 | -17% |
| 18 | Devon | — | — | 842,313 | £10.4m | £12.30 | -26% |
| 19 | Staffordshire | — | — | 907,153 | £10.4m | £11.43 | -31% |
| 20 | Leicestershire | — | — | 745,573 | £8.3m | £11.19 | -33% |
| 21 | Cambridgeshire | — | — | 710,317 | £7.0m | £9.83 | -41% |
What this shows. Net revenue expenditure on the culture and leisure 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.