London Borough of Waltham Forest: local authority assessment

How we assess local authorities

Assessment published: 21 November 2025

About London Borough of Waltham Forest

Demographics

Waltham Forest has a population of 278,400 people. It is a very densely populated, urban borough in northeast London. There is considerable population churn, with high levels of movement in and out of the borough. Waltham Forest is the 18th most ethnically diverse borough in the country. 36% identify as white British or Irish, 20% as Asian/ British Asian, 17% as white (other), 15% as Black or Black British and 7% as multiple or mixed ethnicity. 39% of residents were born outside the UK including around 11,000 residents born in Pakistan, and a similar number in Romania. The number of residents from Romania has grown by over 150% since 2011, which ia the largest growth of any group. 29% of residents do not speak English as their main language. Other languages spoken include Romanian (approx. 10,600 people) Bulgarian, Urdu, Polish or Turkish (16,500 in total)

While Waltham Forest has a younger population on average compared with England, future population growth is forecast to be unevenly distributed between age groups, resulting in an older population on average. According to the 2021 ONS Census, 20.2% of the population were 0-15, 59.7% were 19-64 and 10.1% were over 65. Between 2010 and 2020 the population aged 18–64 had increased by 7%, while those aged 65–84 had increased by 20% and those aged 85 or over by 25%. Over the next 7 years, the population of 65+ was projected to grow a further 19%.  

Waltham Forest has an Index of Multiple Deprivation score of 5 (where 1 is the most deprived and 10 is the least deprived). For this index, the local authority footprint is made up of 56 smaller neighbourhoods, and 37.5% of these are in the 30% most deprived in England, with 38% of children living in poverty. The three most deprived wards, Cann Hall, Lea Bridge, and Leyton, are in the south of the Borough. There are widespread inequalities in life expectancy within Waltham Forest. For example, in the period 2016-20 women in Chapel End ward had the highest life expectancy at 88.4 years, which was 7.6 years longer than women in Lea Bridge ward who could expect to live to 80.8years on average.  The difference between wards with the highest and lowest average life expectancy for men in Waltham Forest was 6.2years.  

Waltham Forest is in the Northeast London Health and Care Partnership, with 7 other local authorities. The local authority has a place-based partnership board with health partners, representatives of the Voluntary Sector and Healthwatch. The London Borough of Waltham Forest is a Labour-led council with a significant majority.  

Financial facts  

The Financial facts for Waltham Forest are:

• The local authority estimated that in 2023/24, its total budget would be £512,967,000.  Its actual spend for that year was £523,351,000 which was £10,384,000 more than estimated.  
• The local authority estimated that it would spend £100,799,000 of its total budget on adult social care in 2023/24. Its actual spend was £106,313,000 which is £5,514,000 more than estimated. In 2023/24, 19.97% 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 ASC precept varies from local authority to local authority.​  
• Approximately 4,100 people were accessing long-term adult social care support, and approximately 1255 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.