Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council: local authority assessment
How we assess local authorities
Assessment published: 4 July 2025
About Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Demographics
Redcar and Cleveland is a small unitary local authority with a mix of urban areas, including towns such as Redcar, Eston and Guisborough, rural areas, and a long coastline. The local authority has a population of approximately 138,000 people. Redcar and Cleveland has an Index Multiple Deprivation score of 7 (with 10 being the highest and most deprived) and is ranked 48th out of 153 local authorities (1st being most deprived). Redcar and Cleveland is among the top 20% most deprived local authority areas in England and it is the 8th most deprived local authority in terms of employment deprivation.
There are estimated to be 32,366 people over the age of 65 in Redcar and Cleveland, the England average for the population size is 25,520, therefore there are 27% more over 65’s than the England average. By 2032, there is projected to be 38,100 over 65s or 1 in 3.5 people in the local authority which is an annual increase of 500 people.
Comparatively, Redcar and Cleveland is not an ethnically diverse local authority. According to national data, 97.7% of the population identified as White British, which is better than the national average of 74.4%. This is in comparison to 3.7% of people identifying as “other” ethnicities within the local authority compared to 18.95% nationally.
Redcar and Cleveland is part of the Northeast and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB). This is the largest ICB in England and includes 14 different local authorities.
Redcar and Cleveland has been under no overall political control since 2013, being led by a minority Labour administration since 2023.
Financial facts
- The local authority estimated that in 2023/24 its total budget would be £204,886,000.00. Its actual spend for that year was £227,897,000.00, which was £22,993,000.00 more than estimated.
- The local authority estimated that it would spend £55,498,000.00 of its total budget on adult social care in 2023/24. Its actual spend for that year was £58,124,000, which was £2,626,000.00 more than estimated.
- In 2023/24, 25.51% of the budget was spent on adult social care.
- The local authority raised the full adult social care precept for 2023/24, with a value of 2%. Please note that this value varies from local authority to local authority.
- Approximately 3010 people were accessing long-term adult social care support and approximately 415 people were accessing short-term adult social care support in 2022/23. 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.