London Borough of Harrow: local authority assessment
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Assessment published: 16 August 2024
About London Borough of Harrow
Demographics
The London Borough of Harrow is situated in North West London, covering 20 square miles. With a population of 261,000, Harrow is the 12th largest London borough geographically but ranks 20th in terms of population. Harrow is divided into 22 wards, has extensive parks and green belt land. Harrow has an IMD of 3 and was ranked 119th out of 152 (at the time the measure was taken there were 152 local authorities with responsibility for adult social care).
The population is largely made up of people aged between 18 and 64. When the last census took place in 2021 the population had grown by 9.3%. Population growth has been highest in older residents and since the 2011 census there has been an increase by 19.4% of people aged 65 and over and increase of 7.8% in people aged 15 to 64 years. The borough is predicted to continue to experience population growth over the next decade, with the most rapid growth in the over 65’s. Harrow is ethnically and religiously diverse, with almost half (45.2%) of the population of Asian heritage and 36.5% white. The five main languages spoken in the borough excluding English are Romanian, Gujarati, Tamil, Arabic and Polish.
Together with 7 other London boroughs, Harrow is part of the NHS North West London integrated care system. In May 2022, Harrow became a Conservative led council.
Financial facts
- The Local Authority estimated that in 2022/23, its total budget would be £326,694,000. Its actual spend for that year was £362,950,000 which was £36,256,000 more than estimated.
- The Local Authority estimated that it would spend £86,332,000 of its total budget on adult social care in 2022/23 Its actual spend was £81,182,000, which is £5,150,000 less than estimated.
- In 2022/2023, 22% 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 Adult Social Care precept varies from Local Authority to Local Authority.
- Approximately 4220 people were accessing long-term Adult Social Care support, and approximately 820 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.