Westmorland and Furness Council: local authority assessment

How we assess local authorities

Assessment published: 12 February 2026

About Westmorland and Furness Council

Demographics

Westmorland and Furness is a unitary authority in the North west of England which was established by the Local Government Reorganisation on the 01st April 2023. Westmorland and Furness compromises three areas previously served by 3 district councils, Eden district council, South Lakeland district council, Barrow Borough council and part of Cumbria County Council. There is a population of 228,187, with a mixture of urban and rural communities. Westmorland and Furness has an index of multiple deprivation score of 4, however, there are areas of deprivation within neighbourhoods of Furness.

The population is largely aged between 18-64 years old. There is an ageing population in the local authority area due to people choosing to retire to the area. Census data for 2022 showed there were 58,500 people aged 65 plus, this was projected to rise to 75,118 by 2043. The ethnic population in Westmorland and Furness identified as 97.6% White, 1% identified as Asian, 0.9% identified as Mixed, 0.3% identified as Other and 0.3% identified as Black.

The local authority told us that over 227,000 people lived in Westmorland and Furness and they expected that by 2040 the population of people aged over 65 would increase from 59,300 to 75,800, which would place an even greater strain on adult social care services.

There were 2 Integrated Care Boards (ICB) covering Westmorland and Furness which were, Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB and North East and North Cumbria ICB. There were 2 acute hospitals and 2 NHS mental health trust providers.

Westmorland and Furness political administration is under Liberal Democrats control with their political make up consisting of Liberal Democrats 35 seats, Labour 15 seats, Conservative 10 seats, Independents 3 seats and Green Party 1 seat.

Financial facts  

• There was no available estimated total budget for the local authority in 2023/24 due to Local Government Reorganisation in 2023.
• There was no available estimated total budget spend on adult social care in 2023/24 due to Local Government Reorganisation in 2023.
• The local authority 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 3635 people were accessing long-term Adult Social Care support, and approximately 820 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.