The local authorityCouncil · Unitary · England · 1 of 63 unitary authorities

North Somerset.

Conservative and Unionist Party-controlled unitary. £229m net revenue. 35 wards across 3 parliamentary constituencies.

TypeUnitary
Seats56 councillors · 35 wards
Last election4 May 2023
Websiten-somerset.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£229m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,295
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
16/56
Conservative and Unionist Party 29%
Westminster
3
constituencies overlap · 2 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Conservative and Unionist Party chamber, 2-party MP geography.

North Somerset is a unitary controlled by Conservative and Unionist Party (16 of 56 seats). Net revenue is £229m for 2025-26. It covers 35 wards spanning 3 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.56 seats · last contested 4 May 2023

Who sits in the chamber.

Con 16Lab 11Independent Berwick Hills Resident 9LD 9Green 8Portishead Independents 3

Conservative and Unionist Party 29% · last contested 4 May 2023

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Bridget PettyGrnBackwell2023
Bridget PettyGrnBackwell2019
Joe TristramGrnBanwell Winscombe2023
Tom NicholsonGrnBanwell Winscombe2023
Ann HarleyConBanwell Winscombe2019
Patrick KeatingLDBlagdon Churchill2023
David William ShoplandIndClevedon East2023
Hannah Margaret YoungLabClevedon South2023
Michael PrykeConClevedon Walton2023
Luke SmithConClevedon West2023
Chris BladesConClevedon Yeo2023
Dan ThomasGrnCongresbury Puxton2023
Showing 12 of 56·All 56 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

64%
Council tax
£147.1m · median 59%
27%
Central grants
£62.9m · median 30%
8%
Business rates
£19.0m · median 11%

This is a high-council-tax unitary authoritie: 64% of revenue from council tax, above the cohort median (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£1,794
County / upper-tier£0
Police£293
Fire & rescue£90
GLA precept£0
Parish average£118
Total Band-D£2,295

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 North Somerset 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.

Adult Social Care35.0% of net spend · cohort median 27%
1 of 61+29% vs median
Education27.5% of net spend · cohort median 36%
53 of 61-23% vs median
Children's Services16.8% of net spend · cohort median 15%
24 of 61+14% vs median
Waste & Recycling6.8% of net spend · cohort median 6%
15 of 61+18% vs median
Corporate & Central3.7% of net spend · cohort median 3%
15 of 61+29% vs median
Public Health3.5% of net spend · cohort median 4%
32 of 61-4% vs median
Highways & Transport2.3% of net spend · cohort median 3%
38 of 61-14% vs median
Culture & Leisure2.0% of net spend · cohort median 2%
37 of 61-9% vs median
Housing & Homelessness1.8% of net spend · cohort median 2%
32 of 61-6% vs median
Planning & Economic Development0.7% of net spend · cohort median 1%
53 of 61-47% 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.35,776 payments · £132.8m gross · 3 Dec 20251 May 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
GALLIFORD TRY CONSTRUCTION LTD£9.84m7.4%5
NORTH SOMERSET ENVIRONMENT COMPANY£6.59m5.0%193
DELT SHARED SERVICES LTD£6.33m4.8%200
OCTAVIUS INFRASTRUCTURE LTD£3.99m3.0%9
JOHN WAINWRIGHT & CO LTD£2.96m2.2%27
(H/C) BRANDON TRUST£2.62m2.0%907
(H/C) ACCESS YOUR CARE LTD£2.55m1.9%1,301
LIBERATA UK LTD T/A CAPACITYGRID£2.50m1.9%152
NETWORK VENTURES LTD T/A NETWORK HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS LTD£2.24m1.7%942
SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNCIL£2.15m1.6%30

By service area · top supplier

Service-classified supplier data not yet ingested for this council.

§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.35 wards split across 3 parliamentary seats

North Somerset’s territory crosses 3 Westminster constituencies, with 2 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
North Somerset1954% Sadik Al-HassanLab
Weston-super-Mare1234% Dan AldridgeLab
Wells and Mendip Hills411% Tessa MuntLD
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 2 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Conservative and Unionist Party-controlled unitary — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.

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
35,776 payments · 3 Dec 20251 May 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level