Warrington Borough Council: local authority assessment

How we assess local authorities

Assessment published: 22 May 2025

About Warrington Borough Council

Demographics

Warrington Borough Council is a local authority in the county of Cheshire. It has been a unitary authority since 1998, and the political administration has been Labour since 2011.Elected members represent 22 wards across the borough.

Warrington’s population is around 211,580 people. There are 43,468 people aged between 0-17 years (20.54%), 126,997 aged between 18 and 64 years (60.02%) and 41,115 aged over 65 years (19.43%). The over 65 population is anticipated to increase, and projections indicate a 21% rise in people aged 65 and over from 2018 to 2028, and 44% rise in people aged 65 and over in 25 years, from 2018 – 2043. The average age is 42 years, which is slightly higher than the Northwest and England average of 40 and the over 65 population is slightly larger than the England average of 18.61%.

Warrington has a largely white population with 93.52% of people identifying as white. 3.30% identify as Asian/Asian British, 1.58% identify as mixed/multiple, 0.85% identify as other and 0.75% identify as Black/Black British/Caribbean or African. Warrington has an overall health index score of 105.4 which is the 6th highest in the Northwest and slightly higher than England (2015).

Warrington’s index of multiple deprivation score is 3 (10 is the most deprived) and they are ranked 110 out of 153 local authorities (1 being the most deprived). Within Warrington the picture is very varied, and there are substantial inequalities, the more deprived areas are in the central areas of Warrington, and the less deprived lie in the outer areas, particularly in the South Warrington wards south of the Manchester Ship Canal.

Warrington is in the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System along with 9 other local authorities.

Financial facts

• The local authority estimated that in 2023/24, its total budget would be £340,338,000.00. Its actual spend for that year was £366,920,000.00, which was £26,582,000.00 more than estimated.
• The local authority estimated that it would spend £90,532,000.00 of its total budget on adult social care in 2023/24. Its actual spend for that year was £95,613,000.00 which was £5,081,000.00 more than estimated. In 2023/24 26.06% of the budget was spent on adult social care.
• The local authority has raised the full adult social care precept for 2023/24, with a value of 2%.
• Approximately 3470 people were accessing long-term adult social care support, and approximately 2190 people were accessing short-term adult social care support in 2023/24.

This data is reproduced at the request of the Department of Health and Social Care. It has not been factored into our assessment and is presented for information purposes only.