Public money · peer comparison

Public health: every county council ranked by spend per resident

21 councils · median £50.21/person · mean £52.51/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.

RankCouncilControlSeatsPopulationTotal spendPer residentvs median
1Lancashire1,294,914£97.6m£75.40+50%
2Derbyshire822,377£55.9m£68.02+35%
3East Sussex560,882£37.1m£66.10+32%
4Worcestershire621,360£37.5m£60.40+20%
5Nottinghamshire857,013£50.0m£58.33+16%
6Norfolk940,359£51.8m£55.06+10%
7Essex1,563,365£85.0m£54.38+8%
8Kent1,639,029£88.3m£53.88+7%
9Oxfordshire763,218£39.1m£51.21+2%
10West Sussex915,037£46.2m£50.50+1%
11Hertfordshire1,236,191£62.1m£50.210%
12Cambridgeshire710,317£35.6m£50.08-0%
13Suffolk786,231£39.2m£49.81-1%
14Lincolnshire789,502£38.6m£48.84-3%
15Hampshire1,447,214£69.7m£48.19-4%
16Gloucestershire669,380£31.0m£46.32-8%
17Staffordshire907,153£41.1m£45.28-10%
18Warwickshire632,207£28.3m£44.80-11%
19Devon842,313£37.7m£44.79-11%
20Leicestershire745,573£33.3m£44.60-11%
21Surrey1,248,649£45.7m£36.58-27%

What this shows. Net revenue expenditure on the public health 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.