Sandwell Council

What Sandwell Council does

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council is a statutory local government authority in the West Midlands, England, serving residents across six constituent towns — Rowley Regis, Tipton, Smethwick, West Bromwich, Oldbury, and Wednesbury. The council operates under a cabinet system with 72 elected councillors representing 24 wards and following the 2026 Local Elections is politically controlled by Reform UK, which holds 41 of 72 seats, with Councillor Ray Nock confirmed as Leader. It delivers a broad portfolio of statutory and discretionary public services including council tax administration, housing allocations, adult and children's social care, waste management, planning, education support, libraries, electoral services, and bereavement registration, and additionally hosts the shared Black Country Coroner Service serving four Black Country authorities at Jack Judge House in Oldbury.

The council's technology stack is conventional public-sector web infrastructure: a Jadu CMS-powered main website (www.sandwell.gov.uk), a Prism library management system, the Citizen Space consultation platform from Delib, and a MySandwell resident self-service portal, alongside purpose-built digital coroner's court facilities. Service delivery occurs across physical locations (libraries, council offices, community centres) and digital channels, with leisure facilities operated through a partnership with Kore Wellness at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre. The council does not offer a developer API or disclose any AI/ML capabilities.

Funding flows from a mix of council tax (property-band-based), business rates on commercial properties, central government grants, fees and charges (library reservations, copying, room hire, archive services, certified copies), and benefits administration processing. As a public sector entity there is no commercial revenue, no shareholders, and no equity capital structure; the council is democratically accountable to its residents through periodic local elections. Operational scale is large — 24 wards, six towns, shared coroner service across four authorities — though no consolidated budget figure is publicly disclosed.

Name

Sandwell Council

Legal name

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

Website

https://sandwell.gov.uk

Company type

Public

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council is a statutory local government authority in the West Midlands, England, serving residents across six towns (Smethwick, Oldbury, West Bromwich, Rowley Regis, Tipton, Wednesbury) with statutory and discretionary services including housing, social care, education, waste management, planning, and library services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Government / Public Administration

NAICS

Legislative Bodies (92112), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (925), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120), Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (924110), Administration of Housing Programs (925110)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340), Services-Business Services, Nec (7389), Lessors Of Real Property, Nec (6519)

akta.pro primary industry

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration (BPAIACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local Public Health & Human Services Administration (BPAIACAK), Solid Waste & Recycling Services Administration (BPAIACAH), Public Works / In-House Municipal Collection Operations (EUAIAAAF), Local Education Authorities & Municipal Education Offices (EDADABAD)

Keywords

• Local government services
• Council tax collection
• Waste management services
• Social care services
• Public library services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oldbury

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Council Tax: Primary local taxation charged to residents based on property valuation bands to fund council services
2. Business Rates: Levy on commercial properties within the borough
3. Government Grants: Central government funding to support council operations and specific service delivery
4. Service Fees and Charges: Various fees including library charges, photocopying, room hire, archive services, and administrative fees
5. Benefits Administration: Processing of government benefits including housing benefits and council tax support

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sandwell Council is a metropolitan borough local government authority delivering statutory and discretionary public services to residents and businesses across the six towns of the Sandwell borough. Core offerings include council tax administration, housing, waste and recycling collection, adult and children's social care, benefits processing, planning, libraries, electoral registration, and registration of births, marriages and deaths. The council also hosts the shared Black Country Coroner Service serving four Black Country authorities.

Product overview

Sandwell Council provides a unified portal of local government services rather than a modular software platform. The offering consists of over 20 distinct service areas including council tax, housing, benefits, social care, education, planning, libraries, electoral services, and the shared Black Country Coroner Service. Most services are accessible online through the main website, with dedicated portals for specific functions like the Consultation Hub (powered by Delib's Citizen Space) and the Coroner's Web Portal. The council does not offer a developer API or AI-powered capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Council Tax Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Won 'Most Improved Council' award at Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards 2026
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• West Midlands PolicecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026Joint operations with West Midlands Police on enforcement activities including the seizure of counterfeit goods in Smethwick (June 2026) and ongoing street racing injunction enforcement. Trading Standards officers work in partnership with police on criminal investigation activities.
• WRi GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026Brand protection partnership with WRi Group for enforcement activities. WRi Group provides brand protection officers who work alongside Sandwell Council Trading Standards and West Midlands Police on counterfeit goods investigations.
• Dudley Council, Walsall Council, Wolverhampton CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Black Country Coroner is a shared service serving the residents of Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Sandwell hosts the Coroners Court at Jack Judge House in Oldbury with modern purpose-built facilities including two digital courts, reception area, family/advocate rooms and co-located office space. Services include investigation of deaths, arrangement of post-mortems/digital autopsies, hosting investigations and inquests, and treasure investigation.
• Kore WellnesscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSandwell Aquatics Centre is operated by Kore Wellness. The council partners with this leisure operator to deliver aquatic and fitness facilities to residents.
• The Smethwick Partnership BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership board managing the Smethwick Pride in Place funding programme, launched 1 July 2026, to support local improvements in the Smethwick area.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Kore Wellness: Channel partner operating the Sandwell Aquatics Centre under licence for the council. Compares as a contracted service-delivery partner running leisure facilities on the council's behalf.
• Local Government Association: National membership body for English councils. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that sets standards, advocates funding, and convenes councils — including the LGC Awards that recognised Sandwell in 2026.
• West Midlands Combined Authority: Regional governance body of which Sandwell is a constituent member. Comparable as a public-sector administrative unit, coordinating devolved transport, housing, and skills funding across member councils.
• Delib (Citizen Space): Supplier of the Citizen Space consultation platform used by Sandwell's Consultation Hub. Compares as an adjacent technology vendor serving the same council digital-services ecosystem.
• Jadu: Provider of the CMS platform powering Sandwell's main council website. Compares as an adjacent technology supplier within the council's digital infrastructure stack.

Direct peers

• Walsall Council: Metropolitan borough council also sharing the Black Country Coroner Service. Same statutory service mandate, comparable scale, and co-partner in shared services.
• Coventry City Council: Metropolitan borough council in the West Midlands offering the same core portfolio of statutory services. Closely comparable in scale, governance model, and demographic profile.
• City of Wolverhampton Council: Metropolitan borough council and fourth partner in the Black Country Coroner Service. Direct service peer operating under the same statutory framework within the West Midlands Combined Authority.
• Dudley Council: Metropolitan borough council sharing the Black Country Coroner Service with Sandwell. Direct service-delivery peer within the same combined authority footprint and demographic profile.

Broad incumbents

• Birmingham City Council: Adjacent West Midlands metropolitan authority and the largest in the region. Comparable as a metropolitan borough council providing the same basket of statutory services, with overlapping Coroner catchment and West Midlands Combined Authority membership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sandwellcouncil
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sandwellchannel
• Facebookfacebook.com/sandwellcouncil
• Instagraminstagram.com/sandwellcouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sandwell-mbc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Sandwell Council