Peterborough City Council: local authority assessment

How we assess local authorities

Assessment published: 9 January 2026

About Peterborough City Council

Demographics

Peterborough is a city but also has rural communities, including boundary urban/rural areas.  Peterborough is made up of 22 wards and combines both urban and rural areas and has a population of 215,700.

Peterborough is one of the fastest growing cities in the UK and has a diverse economy including business sectors such as advanced engineering and manufacturing, agricultural technology, food and drink, digital and creative, energy, environment and financial services.

The council footprint has an index of multiple deprivation score of 8, meaning it was slightly more than midway between the most and least deprived. This overall score consists of some high-income and some high-deprivation areas. In 2019, 15.6% of the population of Peterborough were income deprived

The population is made up of 50.6% women, and 49.4% men. It has a greater proportion of children and young people at 25.49% (55,957) and people of working age 60.07% (131,849) as compared to the England averages of 20.8% and 60.517% respectively.  Unusually, Peterborough has seen big growth in both its older and younger populations: there has been a 24% increase in children aged under 15, a 14% increase in adults aged 15-64 years and a 23% increase in adults aged 65 and over. It is anticipated that there will continue to be population growth over the next decade, with an increase of 9% forecast.

Peterborough is ethnically diverse with,75.38% White, 14.28% Asian, 4.1% Black, 3.5% Mixed and 2.7% identifying as other.

Peterborough is in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System (ICS). The local authority collaborates with healthcare providers, including North West Anglia Foundation Trust and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust to address the healthcare needs of its population.

Cambridgeshire separated from Peterborough in 2023, and two new local authorities were formed.

The Council comprises 60 councillors, with no overall majority, and is made up of 16 Labour and Co-operative councillors, 11 Conservatives, 11 Peterborough First, 8 Liberal Democrat, 5 Green, 1 Labour and 8 Independent councillors. There is a Leader and Cabinet model of decision-making in place, similar to the national government.

Financial facts

• The local authority estimated that in 2023/24, its total budget would be £315,745,000.00. Its actual spend for that year was £349,588,000.00, which was £33,843,000.00 more than estimated.
• The local authority estimated that it would spend £76,323,000.00 of its total budget on adult social care in 2023/24. Its actual spend for that year was £74,764,000.00, which was £1,559,000.00 less than estimated.
• In 2023/2024, 21.39% 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%. Please note that the amount raised through adult social care precept varies from local authority to local authority.
• Approximately 2780 people were accessing long-term ASC support, and approximately 645 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.