Leicester City Council

What Leicester City Council does

Leicester City Council is a unitary local authority providing all local government services to residents of Leicester, a city of over 300,000 people (the 10th largest city in the UK by population) in the East Midlands. The council employs 11,000+ staff, making it Leicester's largest employer, and operates under a directly elected City Mayor model (currently Sir Peter Soulsby, re-elected for a fourth term in May 2023) with 54 councillors representing 21 wards. Its service portfolio covers education, adult and children's social care, housing, waste management and recycling, planning and building control, parking and transport, council tax and business rates, licensing, benefits administration, births/deaths/marriages registration, culture, sport, libraries, and public health.

The council's technology stack is built on a Drupal-based website platform with Google Translate integration (supporting 60+ languages), supplemented by DocuSign for electronic signatures, MiPermit for digital parking permits, Siteimprove for automated accessibility monitoring (crawling every five days), Eteach for teaching job advertising, and e-paycapita for online payments. Resident-facing digital services include the My Account unified portal, Housing Online for council tenants, a Council Tax and Business Rates portal, the Planning Register, the Library Arena catalogue, a public Consultations platform, and the Love Leicester mobile app for issue reporting (potholes, graffiti, waste). The council targets WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance and supports multilingual, keyboard-only, and screen-reader (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver) navigation.

Revenue is sourced from Council Tax on residential properties, Business Rates on commercial properties, central government grants, transactional service fees (parking permits, certificates, licensing, planning applications, fines), and procurement activity. Annual procurement spend exceeds £350 million across more than 4,000 suppliers. Pricing examples include £35/year residents parking permits, £12.50 standard birth/death certificates (or £38.50 priority with 48-hour turnaround), and a 50% early-payment discount on penalty charge notices. Service delivery uses a hybrid model combining 24/7 digital self-service, telephone contact centres (e.g., 0116 454 1000), in-person service points at City Hall and Town Hall, a Customer Service Centre at York House, and a 24-hour safeguarding line.

Name

Leicester City Council

Legal name

Leicester City Council

Website

https://leicester.gov.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Leicester City Council is a UK unitary local authority providing all local government services to over 300,000 residents of Leicester. It employs 11,000+ staff and delivers education, social care, housing, waste, planning, transport, and licensing services via digital portals, mobile apps, and physical service centres.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Government Services

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (9211), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (925), Landscaping Services (56173), Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings (56179)

SIC

Non-Operating Establishments (9995), Sanitary Services (4950), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340), Real Estate Operators (No Developers) & Lessors (6510)

akta.pro primary industry

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration (BPAIACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Housing & Neighborhood Services (Local Housing Programs) (BPAIACAJ), Municipal Tax & Revenue Administration (Local) (BPAIACAD), Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities) (BPAIACAF), Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services (BPAIACAI)

Keywords

• Local government services
• Council tax administration
• Adult social care
• Waste management
• Housing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Leicester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Council Tax: Local taxation on residential properties to fund council services
2. Business Rates: Tax on non-domestic properties such as shops, offices, warehouses, and factories
3. Government Grants: Central government funding for various local services
4. Service Fees and Charges: Fees for various council services including parking permits, planning applications, certificate copies, licensing, and fines
5. Procurement Spending: Council procurement budget of over £350 million annually with over 4,000 suppliers for goods, works and services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Leicester City Council is a unitary local authority that delivers all statutory local government services to the residents of Leicester, including education, social care, housing, waste collection and recycling, Council Tax and Business Rates administration, planning, parking, libraries, public health, and cultural services. It serves a population of over 300,000 through a combination of digital self-service portals (My Account, Housing Online, Council Tax portal), mobile applications (Love Leicester), customer service centres, and in-person service points.

Product overview

Leicester City Council is a unitary local authority providing all local government services to the city of Leicester (population over 300,000). The council operates a portfolio of consumer-facing digital services organised around major life events and service categories. The core online offering consists of the My Account portal (unified access point for residents), the Council Tax and Business Rates Portal (for payments and account management), Housing Online (for council tenants), the Planning Register (for searching and commenting on applications), the Library Services Arena system, and the Consultations Platform for public engagement. These are supplemented by dedicated services for Adult Social Care, Schools and Education, Benefits and Support, Births/Deaths/Ceremonies, Parking Services (including MiPermit digital permits), and Bins/Waste/Recycling. The council also provides a mobile app (Love Leicester) for issue reporting. The overall architecture follows a modular, service-area approach where each major council function has its own branded online service, often linked through the central My Account portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• My Account Online portal for residents to manage council services, report issues, make payments, and receive updates. Available 24 hours a day.
• Council Tax and Business Rates Portal Online service for managing Council Tax and Business Rates accounts, making payments, setting up Direct Debits, and applying for discounts and reductions.
• Housing Online Online portal for council tenants to bid for properties, report repairs, and check rent accounts.
• Planning Register Online system for searching planning applications by reference number or address, tracking progress, and submitting comments on applications open for consultation.
• Library Services (Arena) Online system for searching, reserving, and renewing library books, accessible via the libraries website.
• Consultations Platform Online platform for participating in public consultations and having a say about council services and decisions.
• Love Leicester App Mobile application for reporting issues such as potholes, graffiti, or waste collection to the council's Neighbourhood Improvement Team.
• Adult Social Care Services Services for adults needing help with day-to-day living because of illness or disability, including assessments, support for carers, independent living equipment, and safeguarding.
• Schools and Education Services Services covering nurseries, pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, higher education, adult learning, school admissions, term dates, free school meals, and school transport.
• Benefits and Support Services Services including Housing Benefit, Council Tax support, Pension Credit, cost of living help, food banks, and crisis support.
• Births, Deaths and Ceremonies Services Registration services for births, deaths, marriages, and civil partnerships; citizenship ceremonies; and certificate ordering.
• Parking Services Parking permits, paid parking, car parks, Blue Badges, and penalty charge notice management using the MiPermit digital system.
• Bins, Waste and Recycling Services Household waste and recycling collections, garden waste subscriptions, bulky waste collections, and recycling centre services delivered in partnership with Biffa Leicester.
• Official Certificate Issuing Official certificates issued by Leicester Register Office for births, deaths, marriages, and civil partnerships. Standard certificate at £12.50, priority certificate (processed within 2 working days) at £38.50.
• Resident Parking Permits Resident parking permits for eligible addresses in permit zones, delivered via the MiPermit digital system. Residents parking at £35 per year, annual visitor at £40, and visitor/maintenance at £2 for 24 hours.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processing certificate applications within 15 working days for standard applications, 48 hours for priority
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Newcastle City Council: Mid-sized unitary authority in the North East running the same combined service functions (council tax, housing, social care, waste, planning) at broadly comparable scale to Leicester.
• Bradford Council: Metropolitan district council in West Yorkshire operating the same unitary portfolio of services at a comparable population scale to Leicester.
• Sheffield City Council: Large northern England unitary authority delivering an overlapping portfolio of unitary-council functions and operating at a similar resident-population and budget order-of-magnitude as Leicester.
• Nottingham City Council: East Midlands unitary authority of similar population and service mix, sharing the same regional planning context, council tax regime, and shared reorganisation dialogue as Leicester.
• Coventry City Council: West Midlands-adjacent unitary authority operating the same combined set of local government functions (council tax, social care, housing, waste, planning) and serves a city of broadly comparable population scale to Leicester.
• Wolverhampton City Council: West Midlands metropolitan authority running the same combined unitary-council service set at a population scale close to Leicester's, with comparable digital service-portal operating model.
• Derby City Council: East Midlands unitary authority operating the same combined local-government service delivery model within the same regional labour and housing market context as Leicester.

Broad incumbents

• Birmingham City Council: Larger West Midlands metropolitan authority providing the same unitary-council service bundle (including education and social care) but at significantly greater scale; comparable operating model rather than direct head-to-head.
• Manchester City Council: Large metropolitan unitary authority in the North West with the same unitary service-delivery model; a much larger council but operating the same regulated portfolio of local services.
• Leeds City Council: Large northern metropolitan unitary authority running the same end-to-end local-government portfolio; relevant as a same-tier peer even though materially larger than Leicester.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/leicester_news
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/leicestercouncilnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/107990299249901
• Instagraminstagram.com/leicestercitycouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leicester-city-council

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Leicester City Council