Suffolk County Council local authority assessment (July 2026)

How we assess local authorities

Assessment published: 1 July 2026 

About Suffolk County Council

Demographics

Suffolk is located in the East of England. It is the eighth largest county in England, covering approximately 1,466 square miles. It is bordered by Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex. The county features a mix of urban, rural, and coastal areas, around 40% of Suffolk’s population live in rural areas. The 3 largest towns are Ipswich, Lowestoft, and Bury St Edmunds.

Suffolk is home to over 786,200 residents. According to the latest census data, 93.1% of Suffolk’s population is White, 2.3% Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh, 1.3% Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African, 2.3% Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Groups, and 0.9% Other Ethnic Groups. Suffolk has an ageing population, with approximately 24% of residents aged 65 or older, compared to 19% 2 decades ago. The number of people aged 85 and over is projected to increase by 86% by 2046, equating to approximately 52,000 residents.

Suffolk has an Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) score of 7 (where 10 is least deprived), ranking 98 out of 153 local authorities (1 being most deprived and 153 least deprived). Areas of higher relative deprivation continue to be concentrated in Ipswich and Lowestoft, with smaller areas remaining in Beccles, Felixstowe, Stowmarket, and Bury St Edmunds. However, parts of Kessingland, Newmarket, Mildenhall, Brandon, and an additional area of Bury St Edmunds are now also ranked among the 20% most deprived areas in England according to the 2025 IMD, a change from 2019.

Life expectancy at birth for women in Suffolk is 84.2 years, compared to 83.3 years nationally, and for men 80.6 years, compared to 79.5 years nationally. There are notable variations in life expectancy depending on deprivation levels, with a gap of 6 years for women and 7.2 years for men between the most and least deprived areas.

At the time of the assessment, the county spans two Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), with Suffolk and North East Essex (SNEE) ICB covering most of Suffolk, and Norfolk and Waveney ICB covering Waveney in the far north of Suffolk. A new Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board (ICB) formed on 1 April 2026 which covers the entirety of Suffolk and Norfolk. Suffolk County Council is an upper-tier local authority, covering 5 lower-tier local authorities: Babergh, Mid Suffolk, East Suffolk, Ipswich, and West Suffolk. At the time of our assessment the Conservative Party had majority political leadership of the council, with 45 of 75 elected councillors. 

Financial facts  

• The Local authority’s total spend was £1,099,602,200 in 2024/25, in comparison to a total spend of £1,021,335,000 in 2023/24. In 2024/25, 33.05% of the spend was spent on adult social care. Spend figures are net current expenditure (total service expenditure) sourced from Outturn Data and are not adjusted for inflation. 
• The Local authority’s total spend on adult social care was £363,450,000 in 2024/25, compared to a total spend on adult social care of £348,745,000 in 2023/24. The local authority spent £57,328,669 (adult social care spend) per 100,000 adults in 2024/25.
• The Local Authority raised the full adult social care precept for 2024/25, 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 14,075 people were accessing long-term adult social care support, and approximately 7,150 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.