North Northamptonshire: local authority assessment

Published: 4 March 2026 Page last updated: 4 March 2026

Assessment published: 4 March 2026

About North Northamptonshire

Demographics

North Northamptonshire is a unitary local authority located in the East Midlands region of England, encompassing the towns of Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough, and East Northamptonshire. It borders Rutland, Peterborough, Milton Keynes, and West Northamptonshire, and benefits from strong transport links via the A14 and Midland Main Line, supporting its role as a growing residential and commercial hub.

In 2021, Northamptonshire’s local government was restructured following the financial collapse of the county council in 2018. To improve efficiency and accountability, the UK government replaced the county and seven district councils with two new unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire Council (covering Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough, and East Northamptonshire) and West Northamptonshire Council (covering Northampton, Daventry, and South Northamptonshire). North Northamptonshire has a population of approximately 370,000. The population distribution reveals a predominance of working-age individuals, with 59.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 years. Younger residents aged 0 to 17 years make up 22.1%, while those aged 65 and older represent 18.3% of the population.

North Northamptonshire ranks 92nd out of 153 local authorities in England for deprivation, with an Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) score of 5 (out of 10, 10 being the least deprived) highlighting some socio-economic challenges within the borough. This ranking considers various factors such as income, employment, health, education, and crime. North Northamptonshire has a health index score of 99.2. This score is a composite measure that reflects various health-related aspects of the population, including physical well-being, lifestyle choices, and access to healthcare services. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) describes scores above 100 indicating better health, and below, worse health compared to 2015.

Ethnically, North Northamptonshire is less diverse than many urban authorities, with 90.3% of residents identifying as White, including a majority White British population. The largest minority groups include Asian (3.5%), Black (3.1%), and Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups (2.3%), with Other ethnic groups comprising of 0.8%.

North Northamptonshire is part of the Integrated Care Northamptonshire system, which coordinates health and social care across the county. Politically, North Northamptonshire Council operates under a unitary council structure. As of the May 2025 elections, the council is newly Reform UK-led, with 40 out of 68 councillors representing the party. Other parties include the Conservatives (14), Green Party (8), Labour (4), Liberal Democrats (1), and Independents (1). The council does not have a directly elected mayor.

Financial facts

The Local Authority’s estimated total budget for 2023/24 was £487,990,000.00 Its actual spend for the year was £518,167,000.00, which was £30,177,000.00 more than estimated.
The local authority estimated it would spend £122,354,000.00 of its total budget on Adult Social Care in 2023/24. Its actual spend was £137,448,000.00, which was £15,094,000.00 more than estimated
In 2023/24 26.53% of the budget was spent on adult social care.
For 2023/24, the local authority has raised the full ASC precept with a value of 2%.
Approximately 4690 people were accessing long-term Adult Social Care support, and approximately 1270 people were accessing short-term Adult Social Care support in the 2023/24 period. 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.