Culture and leisure: every metropolitan borough ranked by spend per resident
35 councils · median £49.95/person · mean £49.67/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Tyneside | Ref | 215,025 | £16.6m | £76.97 | +54% | |
| 2 | Wakefield | Ref | — | 367,666 | £27.7m | £75.38 | +51% |
| 3 | Gateshead | Ref | — | 202,760 | £15.0m | £73.86 | +48% |
| 4 | Leeds | Ref | 845,189 | £59.1m | £69.94 | +40% | |
| 5 | South Tyneside | Ref | — | 151,393 | £10.5m | £69.32 | +39% |
| 6 | Liverpool | Lab | 508,961 | £34.6m | £68.05 | +36% | |
| 7 | Wolverhampton | Ref | 281,251 | £18.4m | £65.44 | +31% | |
| 8 | Manchester | Green | 589,670 | £38.2m | £64.75 | +30% | |
| 9 | Oldham | Ref | 251,560 | £16.0m | £63.58 | +27% | |
| 10 | Rotherham | Lab | 276,595 | £16.8m | £60.84 | +22% | |
| 11 | Sheffield | Ref | 582,493 | £32.8m | £56.31 | +13% | |
| 12 | Rochdale | Ref | 235,561 | £13.2m | £55.98 | +12% | |
| 13 | Wirral | Lab | 328,873 | £18.3m | £55.72 | +12% | |
| 14 | Doncaster | Ref | 319,765 | £17.4m | £54.45 | +9% | |
| 15 | Walsall | Ref | — | 295,678 | £15.9m | £53.80 | +8% |
| 16 | Wigan | Ref | 344,922 | £18.5m | £53.58 | +7% | |
| 17 | Calderdale | Ref | — | 210,929 | £10.7m | £50.83 | +2% |
| 18 | Sefton | Lab | — | 286,281 | £14.3m | £49.95 | 0% |
| 19 | Tameside | Ref | 239,643 | £11.0m | £46.10 | -8% | |
| 20 | Stockport | LD | 303,929 | £13.8m | £45.45 | -9% | |
| 21 | Dudley | Ref | 331,930 | £14.8m | £44.57 | -11% | |
| 22 | Newcastle upon Tyne | LD | — | 320,605 | £13.8m | £43.12 | -14% |
| 23 | Bradford | Ref | — | 563,605 | £22.9m | £40.62 | -19% |
| 24 | Trafford | Lab | 241,025 | £9.5m | £39.38 | -21% | |
| 25 | Kirklees | Ref | — | 447,847 | £16.9m | £37.69 | -25% |
| 26 | Sunderland | Ref | — | 288,606 | £10.7m | £37.22 | -25% |
| 27 | Salford | Ref | 294,348 | £10.6m | £36.03 | -28% | |
| 28 | Barnsley | Ref | 251,770 | £9.1m | £36.00 | -28% | |
| 29 | Bolton | Ref | 310,085 | £10.9m | £35.09 | -30% | |
| 30 | Knowsley | Ind | 162,565 | £5.7m | £34.92 | -30% | |
| 31 | Coventry | Ref | — | 369,026 | £11.4m | £30.85 | -38% |
| 32 | Sandwell | Ref | — | 353,860 | £10.8m | £30.61 | -39% |
| 33 | St. Helens | Ref | 188,861 | £5.6m | £29.82 | -40% | |
| 34 | Bury | Lab | 198,921 | £5.9m | £29.78 | -40% | |
| 35 | Solihull | Con | — | 221,242 | £5.0m | £22.48 | -55% |
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.