Lincolnshire County Council: local authority assessment

How we assess local authorities

Assessment published: 13 August 2026

About Lincolnshire County Council 

Demographics

The County of Lincolnshire has a population of 768,364 and is governed by a two-tier local government arrangement. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) is the upper-tier authority, working alongside seven district councils responsible for local services, such as housing, leisure, and related functions. Lincolnshire is situated in the East Midlands area of England and is made up of over 50 miles of coastline, vast stretches of countryside and Lincoln as the only city. Beyond the city of Lincoln, people live in market towns, such as Grantham, Boston, Gainsborough and in smaller rural villages. The population has an Index of Multiple Deprivation score of 6 (1 is the most deprived; 10 is the least deprived). Lincolnshire has specific pockets of high deprivation, particularly along the coastline.

The population is predominantly people of working age, with 57.12% of people between 18 and 64 years old. There is a growing aging population in Lincolnshire; there are currently 24.14% of people aged over 65 years. This is higher than the England average of 18.73%, with an expected increase of 41% by 2043. The people of Lincolnshire are predominantly White British with 95.99% identifying themselves as White British, 1.6% Asian or Asian British, 0.6% Black, Black British, Caribbean or African, 1.3% mixed or multiple ethnic groups, and 0.6% other ethnic groups.

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) and the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) are partners within the Lincolnshire Integrated Care System (ICS). In September 2025, the three existing ICBs for Derby and Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire formed a clustered ICB arrangement. Under this model, the three ICBs work together under a single Chair while remaining separate legal entities. These arrangements are distinct from local Lincolnshire programmes such as “Better Lives Lincolnshire”, which continues to operate as a local strategic framework within the Lincolnshire ICS.

There was a significant change in political landscape in 2025 from Conservative leadership for the previous 20 years to Reform UK. Lincolnshire County Council has 70 seats in total, in the May 2025 election Reform UK gained 44 seats, Conservative 14 seats, Liberal Democrat 5 seats, Independent 4 seats & Labour 3 seats.

Financial facts

• The local authority total spend was £1,137,631,000 in 2024/25, in comparison to a total spend of £1,004,237,000 in 2023/24. In 2024/25 25.84% of the spend was spent on adult social care.
• The local authority spend on adult social care was £252,039,000 in 2024/25, compared to a total spend on adult social care of £221,097,000 in 2023/24. The local authority spent £39,286,071 per 100,000 adults on adult social care in 2024/25.
• The local authority has raised the full adult social care precept for 2024/25, with a value of 2%. Please note that the amount raised through adult social care precept varies from local authority to local authority.
• Approximately 11,245 people were accessing long-term adult social care support, and approximately 3,895 people were accessing short-term adult social care support in 2024/25. 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.