Education: every London borough ranked by spend per resident
33 councils · median £861.28/person · mean £924.85/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barking and Dagenham | Lab | 232,747 | £362.5m | £1557.28 | +81% | |
| 2 | Tower Hamlets | ASP | 331,886 | £428.0m | £1289.72 | +50% | |
| 3 | Camden | Lab | 216,943 | £278.7m | £1284.89 | +49% | |
| 4 | Merton | Lab | 218,539 | £270.0m | £1235.31 | +43% | |
| 5 | Hackney | Green | 266,758 | £327.8m | £1228.64 | +43% | |
| 6 | Redbridge | Lab | 321,231 | £387.5m | £1206.16 | +40% | |
| 7 | Lewisham | Green | 301,255 | £360.3m | £1195.89 | +39% | |
| 8 | Greenwich | Lab | 299,528 | £345.1m | £1152.11 | +34% | |
| 9 | Ealing | Lab | 385,985 | £422.4m | £1094.36 | +27% | |
| 10 | Haringey | Green | 263,850 | £285.5m | £1081.99 | +26% | |
| 11 | Lambeth | Green | 316,920 | £329.3m | £1039.11 | +21% | |
| 12 | Enfield | Con | 327,434 | £329.1m | £1005.22 | +17% | |
| 13 | Islington | Lab | 223,024 | £212.4m | £952.40 | +11% | |
| 14 | Hounslow | Lab | 299,424 | £284.8m | £951.20 | +10% | |
| 15 | Waltham Forest | Green | 279,737 | £260.6m | £931.65 | +8% | |
| 16 | Kingston upon Thames | LD | 172,692 | £148.8m | £861.65 | +0% | |
| 17 | Richmond upon Thames | LD | 196,678 | £169.4m | £861.28 | 0% | |
| 18 | Newham | NEW | 374,523 | £321.9m | £859.57 | -0% | |
| 19 | Barnet | Lab | 405,050 | £343.2m | £847.21 | -2% | |
| 20 | Havering | Ref | 276,274 | £231.3m | £837.26 | -3% | |
| 21 | Sutton | LD | 214,525 | £178.3m | £831.29 | -3% | |
| 22 | Brent | Lab | 352,976 | £284.5m | £806.05 | -6% | |
| 23 | Hillingdon | Con | 329,185 | £255.4m | £775.79 | -10% | |
| 24 | Harrow | Con | 270,724 | £203.5m | £751.77 | -13% | |
| 25 | Southwark | Green | 314,786 | £236.0m | £749.70 | -13% | |
| 26 | Kensington and Chelsea | Con | 144,518 | £105.5m | £729.91 | -15% | |
| 27 | Hammersmith and Fulham | Lab | 188,687 | £133.5m | £707.70 | -18% | |
| 28 | Wandsworth | Con | 337,655 | £238.9m | £707.61 | -18% | |
| 29 | City of London | Ind | 15,111 | £10.0m | £663.89 | -23% | |
| 30 | Croydon | Con | 409,342 | £268.2m | £655.13 | -24% | |
| 31 | Westminster | Con | 209,996 | £131.8m | £627.76 | -27% | |
| 32 | Bexley | Con | 256,434 | £144.0m | £561.58 | -35% | |
| 33 | Bromley | Con | 335,319 | £160.6m | £478.93 | -44% |
What this shows. Net revenue expenditure on the education 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.