BeyondtheVote
Sign in
The local authorityCouncil · Unitary · England · 1 of 63 unitary authorities

Luton.

Labour Party-controlled unitary. £231m net revenue. 20 wards across 2 parliamentary constituencies.

TypeUnitary
Seats55 councillors · 20 wards
Last election4 May 2023
Websiteluton.gov.uk ↗
Net revenue · 2025-26
£231m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,320
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
36/55
Labour Party 65%
Westminster
2
constituencies overlap · 1 MP party
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, Labour Party MPs.

Luton is a unitary controlled by Labour Party (36 of 55 seats). Net revenue is £231m for 2025-26. It covers 20 wards spanning 2 parliamentary constituencies.

§ 01Composition.55 seats · last contested 4 May 2023

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 36LD 16Con 3

Labour Party 65% · last contested 4 May 2023

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Amjid AliLDBarnfield2023
David George FranksLDBarnfield2023
Jeff PettsLDBarnfield2023
Javed Iqbal HussainLabBeech Hill2023
Rehana MalikLabBeech Hill2023
Rumi ChowdhuryLabBeech Hill2023
Tahmina SaleemLabBiscot2023
Zanib RajaLabBiscot2023
Kashif Ali ChoudhryLabBiscot2019
Aziz AmbiaConBramingham2023
John David BakerConBramingham2023
Stuart John MillerConBramingham2023
Showing 12 of 55·All 55 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

48%
Council tax
£110.4m · median 59%
38%
Central grants
£86.6m · median 30%
15%
Business rates
£33.7m · median 11%

This is a grant-heavy unitary authoritie: 48% from council tax vs the cohort median of 59%.

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£1,924
County / upper-tier£0
Police£279
Fire & rescue£118
GLA precept£0
Total Band-D£2,320

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.10 buckets · vs 62 other unitary authorities

How does Luton split its revenue across services, compared with peer unitary authoritie-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Education43.4% of net spend · cohort median 36%
4 of 61+21% vs median
Adult Social Care20.9% of net spend · cohort median 27%
59 of 61-23% vs median
Children's Services14.4% of net spend · cohort median 15%
34 of 61-3% vs median
Waste & Recycling5.0% of net spend · cohort median 6%
48 of 61-13% vs median
Public Health4.5% of net spend · cohort median 4%
20 of 61+21% vs median
Corporate & Central3.4% of net spend · cohort median 3%
20 of 61+18% vs median
Housing & Homelessness3.3% of net spend · cohort median 2%
11 of 61+70% vs median
Highways & Transport2.9% of net spend · cohort median 3%
27 of 61+13% vs median
Culture & Leisure1.2% of net spend · cohort median 2%
55 of 61-47% vs median
Planning & Economic Development1.1% of net spend · cohort median 1%
38 of 61-17% vs median
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 04Top suppliers.9,656 payments · £48.6m gross · 1 Jan 2026 – 31 Mar 2026

Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).

Top by total — last 180 days

SupplierPaidSharePmts
WILLMOTT DIXON CONSTRUCTION LIMITED£2.92m6.0%4
LUTON & KENT COMMERCIAL SERVICES LLP£2.71m5.6%11
SUEZ RECYCLING AND RECOVERY LTD£2.39m4.9%35
VOLKER HIGHWAYS CROWLEY LTD£1.94m4.0%113
NHS BLMK ICB£1.68m3.5%18
CAMBRIDGESHIRE COMMUNITY SERVICES£1.40m2.9%14
DAVID NOTT & SONS LTD£1.28m2.6%33
VOLKER SERVICES LTD£1.06m2.2%48
NPOWER LTD£0.91m1.9%446
HUGGG£0.73m1.5%7

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Adult Social CareLUTON & KENT COMMERCIAL SERVICES LLP£2.71m
Planning And EconomicSUEZ RECYCLING AND RECOVERY LTD£2.39m
Childrens ServicesMORGAN SINDALL CONSTRUCTION & INFRASTRUCTURE LTD£0.38m
Corporate And CentralGRANT THORNTON UK LLP£0.27m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.20 wards split across 2 parliamentary seats
ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Luton South and South Bedfordshire1470% Rachel HopkinsLab
Luton North630% Sarah OwenLab
Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 62 other unitary authorities
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
9,656 payments · 1 Jan 2026 – 31 Mar 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level