Lambeth Council: local authority assessment

How we assess local authorities

Assessment published: 15 May 2026

About Lambeth Council

Demographics

Lambeth is an inner London borough in South East London. There is a population of 316,920 and it has the 9th largest population in London. Lambeth has an index of multiple deprivation score of 8, meaning it’s one of the most deprived local authorities. There are big variations in deprivation across Lambeth, with 1 in 5 residents that are within the 20% most deprived in England.

The population in Lambeth is largely aged between 18-64 and is a relatively ‘young’ borough, although, in line with national trends, has seen an increase in people aged 65 and over. Population diversity data shows 23.97% of people in Lambeth identify as Black, Black British, Caribbean or African which is nearly six times greater than the England average of 4.22%. 55.02% of the population identify as White, 8.07% as Mixed or Multiple, 7.26% as Asian, Asian British and 5.68% as Other.  

There is an Integrated Care System covering Lambeth which is the NHS South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB). There are 2 acute hospitals, which are King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Lambeth political administration is under Labour control and has been since 2006, with their political make up consisting of Labour 54 seats, Liberal Democrats 4 seats, Green Party 4 seats and Independent 1 seat.

Financial facts  

• The Local Authority’s total spend was £726,156,000 in 2023/24, in comparison to a total spend of £675,320,000 in 2022/23. In 2023/24, 15.98% of the spend was spent on Adult Social Care.
• The Local Authority’s total spend on Adult Social Care was £133,801,754 in 2023/24, compared to a total spend on Adult Social Care of £104,143,000 in 2022/23. The Local Authority spent £50,772,103 (Adult Social Care spend) per 100,000 adults in 2023/24.
• The Local Authority has raised the full Adult Social Care precept for 2023/24, with a value of 2%. Please note that the amount raised through the Adult Social Care precept varies from Local Authority to Local Authority.
• Approximately 4990 people were accessing long-term Adult Social Care support, and approximately 1550 people were accessing short-term Adult Social Care support in 2023/24. ​Local authorities spend money on a range of Adult Social Care services, including supporting individuals. No two care packages are the same and vary significantly in their intensity, duration, and cost.  

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.