Published 21 August 2026
Attendance Allowance is the benefit almost nobody talks about. It pays up to £114.60 a week, it is not means tested, it takes no account of savings or income, and 1,760,770 people in England and Wales were entitled to it in November 2025. Whether you get it depends enormously on where you live. In Hartlepool, one in every four people aged 66 and over receives it. In Richmond upon Thames, it is one in eleven. Review Mobility has compiled the figures for all 318 local authorities in England and Wales, published in full below with a free downloadable dataset.
Key findings
- 1,760,770 people in England and Wales were entitled to Attendance Allowance in November 2025, up 6.0% in a year. Not one of the 318 councils saw its caseload fall.
- Nationally 15.7% of people aged 66 and over claim it, roughly one in six.
- Hartlepool has the highest rate at 263 claims per 1,000 over-66s, which is one in 3.8. Richmond upon Thames has the lowest at 93 per 1,000, one in 10.7. The gap is 2.8 to one.
- Wales claims at 191 per 1,000 against England’s 155, a rate 24% higher.
- In 17 council areas at least one in five over-66s receives the benefit.
- Ill health explains much of the gap, but not all of it. Census disability prevalence accounts for about 62% of the variation between councils, leaving nearly two fifths unexplained.
- Sandwell and Cornwall have almost identical disability rates, 8.7% and 8.9% of residents with day-to-day activities limited a lot. Sandwell claims at 205 per 1,000 and Cornwall at 133.
- 63.8% of claims are paid at the higher rate, ranging from 76.3% in Gwynedd to 53.3% in Tewkesbury.
What Attendance Allowance is, and what it is not
Attendance Allowance is for people over State Pension Age who need help with personal care or supervision because of a disability or illness. In 2026/27 it pays £76.70 a week at the lower rate, for help during the day or at night, and £114.60 at the higher rate, for help both day and night or for someone nearing the end of life. That is £3,988 or £5,959 a year, tax free. It is not means tested, so income and savings are irrelevant, and it is not affected by whether anyone actually provides the care.
It also unlocks other money. An Attendance Allowance award can increase Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, and it can qualify a carer for Carer’s Allowance, so the true value of a successful claim is often higher than the headline rate.
There is one thing it does not do, and for readers of this site it matters. Attendance Allowance has no mobility component. Personal Independence Payment, which people claim before State Pension Age, has one, and the enhanced rate of it is the passport to the Motability scheme. Attendance Allowance has no equivalent. If your walking becomes difficult at 62 you can claim PIP mobility and lease a scooter, powered wheelchair or car through Motability. If the same thing happens at 68, you cannot. You keep PIP mobility if you were already getting it, but you cannot start a new claim for it after pension age.
That cliff edge is why so many older people buy mobility equipment outright, and why Attendance Allowance money often ends up paying for it. Our mobility aid price index tracks what that equipment actually costs, and our PIP mobility league table covers the working-age half of the picture.
The 15 highest claim rates
| Rank | Local authority | Attendance Allowance claims | Claims per 1,000 aged 66+ | Share on the higher rate | Change in year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartlepool | 4,980 | 262.7 | 76.9% | +6.9% |
| 2 | Tower Hamlets | 4,258 | 228.5 | 72.4% | +7.0% |
| 3 | Neath Port Talbot | 6,587 | 220.3 | 74.9% | +7.1% |
| 4 | Caerphilly | 7,637 | 217.9 | 72.0% | +8.3% |
| 5 | Swansea | 10,328 | 211.6 | 75.2% | +5.5% |
| 6 | Bridgend | 6,368 | 208.8 | 75.2% | +5.2% |
| 7 | Newport | 5,576 | 206.8 | 68.3% | +5.3% |
| 8 | Gateshead | 8,173 | 206.6 | 67.5% | +6.9% |
| 9 | Knowsley | 5,547 | 206.1 | 71.7% | +7.1% |
| 10 | Blaenau Gwent | 2,745 | 205.0 | 68.6% | +6.5% |
| 11 | Sandwell | 9,874 | 204.7 | 67.7% | +3.0% |
| 12 | Tendring | 9,137 | 204.3 | 68.1% | +8.3% |
| 13 | Liverpool | 15,163 | 204.1 | 71.0% | +5.1% |
| 14 | St. Helens | 7,466 | 201.7 | 68.4% | +4.8% |
| 15 | South Tyneside | 6,271 | 201.3 | 64.6% | +7.4% |
The top of the table is the familiar geography of ill health: the north east, the south Wales valleys, Merseyside and the east London boroughs. Hartlepool, Gateshead, Knowsley, Neath Port Talbot and Caerphilly all sit among the areas with the worst healthy life expectancy in Britain, and their claim rates follow.
The 15 lowest claim rates
| Rank | Local authority | Attendance Allowance claims | Claims per 1,000 aged 66+ | Share on the higher rate | Change in year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 302 | Test Valley | 3,389 | 117.7 | 56.7% | +7.4% |
| 303 | Winchester | 3,237 | 116.8 | 56.9% | +6.0% |
| 304 | Cambridge | 1,950 | 116.7 | 59.3% | +6.4% |
| 305 | Kingston upon Thames | 2,915 | 116.3 | 62.8% | +3.4% |
| 306 | Vale of White Horse | 3,374 | 116.1 | 60.6% | +5.9% |
| 307 | Guildford | 2,889 | 115.5 | 59.1% | +6.7% |
| 308 | Hart | 2,364 | 114.6 | 57.9% | +8.1% |
| 309 | South Oxfordshire | 3,655 | 113.1 | 58.9% | +6.1% |
| 310 | West Oxfordshire | 2,964 | 112.8 | 60.6% | +4.8% |
| 311 | Wokingham | 3,516 | 111.8 | 58.6% | +4.3% |
| 312 | Waverley | 3,243 | 111.7 | 57.7% | +4.7% |
| 313 | East Hampshire | 3,366 | 109.5 | 59.1% | +5.2% |
| 314 | West Berkshire | 3,500 | 108.1 | 56.7% | +4.9% |
| 315 | Kensington and Chelsea | 2,334 | 106.6 | 70.9% | +5.2% |
| 316 | Richmond upon Thames | 3,030 | 93.2 | 59.8% | +4.9% |
The bottom is the southern commuter belt and the wealthier London boroughs: Richmond upon Thames, Kensington and Chelsea, West Berkshire, Waverley, Wokingham. The City of London and the Isles of Scilly sit lower still but are excluded from the highlight tables, because with a few hundred older residents each they cannot be fairly compared. Both remain in the full table.
Health explains about three fifths of the gap
The obvious objection to a table like this is that people in Hartlepool are simply sicker than people in Richmond, and that is true. To test how much of the difference that accounts for, we compared each council’s claim rate with the share of its residents who told the 2021 census their day-to-day activities were limited a lot.
The two move together strongly, with a correlation of 0.79. That means disability prevalence explains roughly 62% of the variation in claim rates between councils. It also means it does not explain the other 38%.
The clearest way to see what is left is to compare councils with near-identical disability rates. Sandwell and Cornwall both have around 8.8% of residents whose activities are limited a lot. Sandwell claims Attendance Allowance at 205 per 1,000 over-66s; Cornwall at 133. Newham and East Hampshire both sit at 5.6%. Newham claims at 185 per 1,000, East Hampshire at 109. Castle Point and South Hams are both around 7.5%, and claim at 190 and 119.
Differences in age structure within the over-66 population explain part of this, since the census measure covers all ages. Awareness, advice services and the willingness to fill in a 30-page form explain the rest. Attendance Allowance is claimed, not awarded automatically, and a claim requires someone to know it exists.
How much is going unclaimed
Nobody knows exactly, because there is no register of people who would qualify but have not applied. The most cited estimate comes from Policy in Practice, which put the figure at more than 1.1 million pension-age households missing out on £5.2 billion of Attendance Allowance a year.
Our own figures give a sense of the scale in a different way. If every one of the 168 councils claiming below the national rate simply claimed at the national rate, there would be 111,081 more awards in payment. At the average award currently paid, that is worth roughly £583 million a year. That figure is arithmetic. It is not an estimate of unclaimed entitlement, because some of those areas are genuinely healthier and their lower rates are appropriate. What it shows is how far the map would move if take-up were even.
The full league table of 318 council areas
Every local authority in England and Wales, ranked by Attendance Allowance claims per 1,000 residents aged 66 and over. You can also download the full dataset as a CSV file, which adds ONS area codes, the November 2024 comparators, higher and lower rate splits, and the census disability figure used in the analysis above.
| Rank | Local authority | Attendance Allowance claims | Claims per 1,000 aged 66+ | Share on the higher rate | Change in year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartlepool | 4,980 | 262.7 | 76.9% | +6.9% |
| 2 | Tower Hamlets | 4,258 | 228.5 | 72.4% | +7.0% |
| 3 | Neath Port Talbot | 6,587 | 220.3 | 74.9% | +7.1% |
| 4 | Caerphilly | 7,637 | 217.9 | 72.0% | +8.3% |
| 5 | Swansea | 10,328 | 211.6 | 75.2% | +5.5% |
| 6 | Bridgend | 6,368 | 208.8 | 75.2% | +5.2% |
| 7 | Newport | 5,576 | 206.8 | 68.3% | +5.3% |
| 8 | Gateshead | 8,173 | 206.6 | 67.5% | +6.9% |
| 9 | Knowsley | 5,547 | 206.1 | 71.7% | +7.1% |
| 10 | Blaenau Gwent | 2,745 | 205.0 | 68.6% | +6.5% |
| 11 | Sandwell | 9,874 | 204.7 | 67.7% | +3.0% |
| 12 | Tendring | 9,137 | 204.3 | 68.1% | +8.3% |
| 13 | Liverpool | 15,163 | 204.1 | 71.0% | +5.1% |
| 14 | St. Helens | 7,466 | 201.7 | 68.4% | +4.8% |
| 15 | South Tyneside | 6,271 | 201.3 | 64.6% | +7.4% |
| 16 | Torfaen | 3,830 | 201.0 | 69.5% | +4.9% |
| 17 | Sunderland | 11,450 | 200.1 | 68.1% | +5.2% |
| 18 | Carmarthenshire | 9,141 | 198.8 | 71.2% | +5.9% |
| 19 | Blackpool | 5,660 | 198.5 | 63.7% | +5.3% |
| 20 | Denbighshire | 4,635 | 195.3 | 69.5% | +4.2% |
| 21 | Manchester | 10,162 | 195.1 | 70.6% | +5.7% |
| 22 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 8,994 | 194.5 | 70.4% | +5.7% |
| 23 | North East Lincolnshire | 6,430 | 193.6 | 67.8% | +7.0% |
| 24 | Merthyr Tydfil | 2,106 | 191.6 | 67.6% | +7.4% |
| 25 | Stockton-on-Tees | 7,409 | 190.2 | 66.8% | +5.9% |
| 26 | Castle Point | 4,260 | 190.2 | 64.1% | +4.6% |
| 27 | Conwy | 5,951 | 189.6 | 72.9% | +4.3% |
| 28 | Burnley | 3,245 | 188.5 | 66.2% | +6.3% |
| 29 | Middlesbrough | 4,670 | 187.9 | 66.3% | +7.0% |
| 30 | Birmingham | 27,406 | 187.5 | 65.6% | +4.4% |
| 31 | Wolverhampton | 8,020 | 187.4 | 63.6% | +4.4% |
| 32 | Walsall | 9,010 | 187.2 | 62.0% | +4.2% |
| 33 | Barnsley | 9,049 | 186.8 | 68.9% | +9.4% |
| 34 | Wrexham | 5,133 | 186.7 | 66.1% | +4.1% |
| 35 | Hyndburn | 2,759 | 186.5 | 65.1% | +6.6% |
| 36 | Sefton | 12,163 | 185.9 | 67.4% | +7.0% |
| 37 | Kingston upon Hull, City of | 7,521 | 185.8 | 64.8% | +5.0% |
| 38 | Gwynedd | 5,006 | 185.3 | 76.3% | +3.5% |
| 39 | Newham | 4,951 | 184.9 | 72.0% | +8.7% |
| 40 | Cardiff | 9,923 | 184.9 | 67.1% | +4.2% |
| 41 | Stoke-on-Trent | 8,086 | 184.7 | 62.9% | +5.5% |
| 42 | Thanet | 6,089 | 184.6 | 63.3% | +6.2% |
| 43 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 8,376 | 184.6 | 65.3% | +4.3% |
| 44 | Ashfield | 4,614 | 184.4 | 61.6% | +6.2% |
| 45 | Fenland | 4,342 | 184.4 | 65.6% | +6.9% |
| 46 | Rotherham | 9,596 | 183.9 | 68.0% | +4.7% |
| 47 | Bolsover | 3,051 | 183.6 | 63.2% | +4.2% |
| 48 | County Durham | 20,668 | 182.2 | 69.4% | +4.2% |
| 49 | Vale of Glamorgan | 5,398 | 182.2 | 74.0% | +4.3% |
| 50 | Pendle | 3,174 | 182.1 | 65.2% | +5.9% |
| 51 | Lincoln | 2,770 | 182.1 | 64.5% | +5.4% |
| 52 | Wyre | 6,002 | 182.0 | 67.1% | +7.3% |
| 53 | Barking and Dagenham | 3,433 | 181.7 | 65.4% | +5.3% |
| 54 | Isle of Anglesey | 3,296 | 181.1 | 70.0% | +6.9% |
| 55 | Hackney | 3,917 | 180.8 | 70.6% | +7.3% |
| 56 | Mansfield | 3,895 | 180.7 | 62.3% | +7.6% |
| 57 | Redcar and Cleveland | 5,836 | 180.6 | 64.2% | +9.0% |
| 58 | Wirral | 12,888 | 180.5 | 70.6% | +5.9% |
| 59 | Wigan | 11,505 | 180.4 | 69.5% | +9.4% |
| 60 | Dudley | 11,538 | 180.2 | 61.4% | +4.1% |
| 61 | Thurrock | 4,194 | 180.0 | 61.5% | +5.8% |
| 62 | Folkestone and Hythe | 5,009 | 178.8 | 71.2% | +4.0% |
| 63 | Southend-on-Sea | 6,147 | 178.6 | 62.5% | +5.5% |
| 64 | Harlow | 2,406 | 178.5 | 59.4% | +7.8% |
| 65 | Newcastle-under-Lyme | 4,713 | 177.6 | 63.3% | +4.9% |
| 66 | Halton | 4,306 | 177.6 | 67.5% | +4.7% |
| 67 | Luton | 4,571 | 177.5 | 66.3% | +6.3% |
| 68 | Oldham | 6,680 | 177.1 | 65.9% | +5.8% |
| 69 | Chesterfield | 4,008 | 176.4 | 61.7% | +4.8% |
| 70 | Bassetlaw | 4,752 | 176.3 | 65.4% | +4.2% |
| 71 | Rochdale | 6,476 | 175.7 | 63.5% | +8.9% |
| 72 | Enfield | 8,104 | 175.4 | 69.2% | +7.7% |
| 73 | Leicester | 7,768 | 175.1 | 67.2% | +5.8% |
| 74 | Bolton | 8,737 | 175.0 | 64.9% | +6.3% |
| 75 | Blackburn with Darwen | 3,829 | 174.5 | 67.8% | +7.1% |
| 76 | Rochford | 3,501 | 173.9 | 62.9% | +11.0% |
| 77 | Tameside | 6,948 | 173.2 | 63.3% | +6.7% |
| 78 | Lancaster | 5,072 | 173.0 | 62.7% | +5.2% |
| 79 | Doncaster | 10,373 | 172.8 | 62.4% | +6.0% |
| 80 | Flintshire | 5,707 | 172.7 | 67.0% | +5.8% |
| 81 | Broxbourne | 2,917 | 171.9 | 60.8% | +5.9% |
| 82 | Basildon | 5,381 | 171.2 | 61.8% | +6.6% |
| 83 | Telford and Wrekin | 5,778 | 171.2 | 67.1% | +4.3% |
| 84 | Torbay | 6,302 | 170.9 | 65.3% | +4.8% |
| 85 | Derby | 7,268 | 170.3 | 61.0% | +6.7% |
| 86 | North Tyneside | 7,450 | 169.8 | 65.9% | +5.5% |
| 87 | Havering | 7,738 | 169.3 | 65.3% | +6.0% |
| 88 | Coventry | 8,228 | 169.3 | 65.6% | +5.3% |
| 89 | Cannock Chase | 3,376 | 169.3 | 58.2% | +6.5% |
| 90 | Preston | 3,762 | 169.1 | 64.0% | +3.7% |
| 91 | Medway | 7,770 | 168.8 | 62.8% | +8.7% |
| 92 | Salford | 5,914 | 168.7 | 62.0% | +5.8% |
| 93 | Sheffield | 15,751 | 168.7 | 62.4% | +4.7% |
| 94 | Bradford | 14,127 | 168.6 | 67.7% | +6.6% |
| 95 | East Lindsey | 7,512 | 168.5 | 65.0% | +4.9% |
| 96 | Cumberland | 10,923 | 168.2 | 71.0% | +4.8% |
| 97 | Pembrokeshire | 5,535 | 168.2 | 67.0% | +6.3% |
| 98 | Tamworth | 2,532 | 167.9 | 59.0% | +9.4% |
| 99 | Brent | 6,915 | 167.7 | 69.0% | +6.8% |
| 100 | Oadby and Wigston | 2,028 | 167.7 | 61.2% | +5.4% |
| 101 | Peterborough | 5,153 | 167.7 | 63.6% | +4.8% |
| 102 | Stevenage | 2,296 | 167.4 | 59.5% | +3.8% |
| 103 | Boston | 2,429 | 167.2 | 61.8% | +7.9% |
| 104 | Bury | 5,846 | 167.1 | 66.1% | +5.5% |
| 105 | Islington | 3,453 | 167.1 | 63.3% | +4.2% |
| 106 | Nottingham | 6,198 | 166.8 | 60.4% | +4.3% |
| 107 | Colchester | 5,801 | 166.7 | 67.5% | +4.6% |
| 108 | Rossendale | 2,274 | 166.6 | 63.7% | +8.8% |
| 109 | South Holland | 3,858 | 166.2 | 62.6% | +7.3% |
| 110 | North Lincolnshire | 6,262 | 166.0 | 64.5% | +7.1% |
| 111 | Gloucester | 3,715 | 166.0 | 57.7% | +7.2% |
| 112 | North Kesteven | 4,691 | 166.0 | 63.0% | +9.3% |
| 113 | North East Derbyshire | 4,223 | 165.5 | 62.8% | +6.8% |
| 114 | Stockport | 9,699 | 165.2 | 63.1% | +7.2% |
| 115 | Norwich | 3,465 | 164.1 | 63.5% | +4.5% |
| 116 | Powys | 6,149 | 163.2 | 68.9% | +8.6% |
| 117 | Darlington | 3,750 | 163.1 | 65.4% | +6.9% |
| 118 | Solihull | 7,359 | 163.1 | 65.2% | +4.6% |
| 119 | Southwark | 4,450 | 163.0 | 68.2% | +6.4% |
| 120 | Amber Valley | 4,692 | 162.8 | 62.0% | +3.8% |
| 121 | Gedling | 4,074 | 162.2 | 59.9% | +8.6% |
| 122 | West Lancashire | 4,304 | 162.2 | 68.2% | +8.5% |
| 123 | Gravesham | 2,875 | 162.1 | 60.9% | +4.7% |
| 124 | Epping Forest | 4,322 | 162.0 | 61.4% | +7.8% |
| 125 | Ceredigion | 2,991 | 161.8 | 70.7% | +2.6% |
| 126 | Swale | 4,743 | 161.8 | 61.5% | +7.1% |
| 127 | Monmouthshire | 3,921 | 161.3 | 67.1% | +5.4% |
| 128 | North Warwickshire | 2,323 | 161.1 | 60.2% | +6.8% |
| 129 | Worcester | 3,012 | 161.0 | 60.3% | +6.4% |
| 130 | Redbridge | 6,182 | 160.9 | 70.4% | +6.6% |
| 131 | Plymouth | 7,886 | 160.5 | 60.2% | +7.6% |
| 132 | Bexley | 6,531 | 160.5 | 67.0% | +5.5% |
| 133 | Erewash | 3,717 | 160.4 | 59.0% | +4.0% |
| 134 | Northumberland | 13,718 | 160.3 | 68.1% | +6.8% |
| 135 | Great Yarmouth | 3,853 | 160.2 | 59.3% | +7.2% |
| 136 | Broxtowe | 3,801 | 160.2 | 58.5% | +4.1% |
| 137 | Portsmouth | 4,872 | 159.4 | 57.8% | +4.8% |
| 138 | Eastbourne | 4,001 | 159.4 | 61.9% | +3.7% |
| 139 | Hastings | 2,905 | 159.0 | 58.9% | +5.2% |
| 140 | King’s Lynn and West Norfolk | 6,374 | 158.9 | 66.5% | +6.1% |
| 141 | Dartford | 2,531 | 158.8 | 62.7% | +6.0% |
| 142 | North Northamptonshire | 10,546 | 158.7 | 62.3% | +8.1% |
| 143 | Warrington | 6,479 | 157.7 | 65.3% | +4.5% |
| 144 | Wakefield | 10,603 | 157.7 | 63.6% | +6.3% |
| 145 | Wyre Forest | 4,001 | 157.4 | 58.0% | +5.8% |
| 146 | Worthing | 3,964 | 157.3 | 61.5% | +6.0% |
| 147 | South Gloucestershire | 8,674 | 157.2 | 63.3% | +6.4% |
| 148 | Dover | 4,534 | 157.2 | 63.3% | +7.1% |
| 149 | South Staffordshire | 4,475 | 157.0 | 58.3% | +5.6% |
| 150 | Hertsmere | 3,079 | 156.9 | 63.9% | +7.4% |
| 151 | Leeds | 19,743 | 156.5 | 61.5% | +5.9% |
| 152 | Blaby | 3,327 | 156.2 | 61.3% | +4.3% |
| 153 | Staffordshire Moorlands | 3,927 | 156.0 | 62.5% | +5.5% |
| 154 | Nuneaton and Bedworth | 3,991 | 156.0 | 59.2% | +7.0% |
| 155 | Adur | 2,336 | 155.7 | 58.4% | +5.2% |
| 156 | Fylde | 3,788 | 155.6 | 63.6% | +6.4% |
| 157 | Slough | 2,418 | 155.6 | 70.1% | +5.7% |
| 158 | Bristol, City of | 9,206 | 155.2 | 60.1% | +2.7% |
| 159 | Newark and Sherwood | 4,404 | 154.8 | 61.3% | +6.0% |
| 160 | South Ribble | 3,806 | 154.2 | 62.8% | +7.2% |
| 161 | Trafford | 6,261 | 153.8 | 61.9% | +6.6% |
| 162 | Redditch | 2,487 | 153.6 | 58.6% | +5.9% |
| 163 | Haringey | 4,402 | 153.6 | 67.9% | +9.3% |
| 164 | Hillingdon | 6,353 | 153.5 | 67.9% | +6.0% |
| 165 | Watford | 2,059 | 153.5 | 63.9% | +6.8% |
| 166 | Hinckley and Bosworth | 3,926 | 152.8 | 61.4% | +8.8% |
| 167 | Greenwich | 4,699 | 152.6 | 63.6% | +5.0% |
| 168 | Teignbridge | 5,657 | 152.4 | 61.9% | +6.2% |
| 169 | Southampton | 5,175 | 152.3 | 55.8% | +8.2% |
| 170 | Ealing | 7,105 | 151.5 | 70.5% | +8.7% |
| 171 | Lambeth | 4,357 | 151.4 | 63.2% | +5.3% |
| 172 | Waltham Forest | 4,358 | 150.8 | 62.7% | +8.5% |
| 173 | York | 5,822 | 150.8 | 65.9% | +5.2% |
| 174 | South Derbyshire | 3,215 | 150.7 | 60.5% | +5.0% |
| 175 | Bromsgrove | 3,450 | 150.6 | 59.3% | +3.9% |
| 176 | North Somerset | 7,893 | 150.6 | 58.4% | +6.8% |
| 177 | Brentwood | 2,309 | 150.5 | 64.0% | +4.2% |
| 178 | Welwyn Hatfield | 2,872 | 150.4 | 61.5% | +4.1% |
| 179 | Canterbury | 5,284 | 150.3 | 66.0% | +5.1% |
| 180 | Arun | 7,208 | 149.8 | 60.8% | +5.9% |
| 181 | Gosport | 2,692 | 149.5 | 56.6% | +6.0% |
| 182 | East Riding of Yorkshire | 13,980 | 149.0 | 60.8% | +6.7% |
| 183 | Cheshire West and Chester | 11,526 | 148.5 | 63.8% | +7.3% |
| 184 | Chorley | 3,623 | 148.2 | 63.3% | +8.3% |
| 185 | Calderdale | 5,881 | 148.2 | 61.7% | +5.8% |
| 186 | West Lindsey | 3,646 | 148.1 | 62.4% | +3.3% |
| 187 | Sutton | 4,648 | 147.9 | 63.9% | +8.2% |
| 188 | South Kesteven | 5,016 | 147.4 | 59.8% | +7.7% |
| 189 | Isle of Wight | 6,076 | 147.0 | 60.4% | +7.2% |
| 190 | North Devon | 3,803 | 146.9 | 57.7% | +7.2% |
| 191 | Tonbridge and Malling | 3,784 | 146.9 | 62.1% | +6.9% |
| 192 | Croydon | 7,999 | 146.8 | 67.4% | +6.0% |
| 193 | Charnwood | 5,170 | 146.5 | 60.2% | +4.4% |
| 194 | Rother | 4,449 | 146.3 | 59.7% | +5.0% |
| 195 | North West Leicestershire | 3,164 | 146.2 | 60.6% | +5.5% |
| 196 | Harrow | 6,008 | 146.2 | 68.1% | +7.8% |
| 197 | East Staffordshire | 3,515 | 145.8 | 58.1% | +5.2% |
| 198 | Broadland | 5,069 | 145.7 | 64.5% | +6.5% |
| 199 | High Peak | 2,980 | 145.4 | 60.9% | +5.0% |
| 200 | Breckland | 5,270 | 145.2 | 64.2% | +7.4% |
| 201 | Epsom and Ewell | 2,096 | 145.0 | 68.4% | +3.1% |
| 202 | Ipswich | 3,321 | 144.7 | 61.2% | +5.0% |
| 203 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 12,417 | 144.5 | 56.0% | +4.9% |
| 204 | Sevenoaks | 3,785 | 144.5 | 64.0% | +4.8% |
| 205 | Ashford | 3,874 | 144.4 | 66.1% | +6.1% |
| 206 | North Yorkshire | 23,194 | 144.3 | 63.6% | +6.0% |
| 207 | Westmorland and Furness | 8,512 | 144.0 | 70.1% | +2.0% |
| 208 | Three Rivers | 2,469 | 143.9 | 62.2% | +5.2% |
| 209 | Lichfield | 3,741 | 143.8 | 59.0% | +8.3% |
| 210 | Stafford | 4,591 | 143.7 | 58.3% | +3.7% |
| 211 | Exeter | 3,144 | 143.7 | 57.4% | +5.0% |
| 212 | Malvern Hills | 3,330 | 143.4 | 64.2% | +4.3% |
| 213 | Havant | 4,388 | 143.4 | 56.1% | +7.2% |
| 214 | Spelthorne | 2,623 | 143.4 | 58.0% | +3.6% |
| 215 | Eastleigh | 3,967 | 143.2 | 59.2% | +6.1% |
| 216 | Shropshire | 12,213 | 143.2 | 64.4% | +4.5% |
| 217 | Crawley | 2,287 | 143.1 | 58.7% | +5.2% |
| 218 | Maidstone | 4,908 | 143.1 | 62.6% | +3.7% |
| 219 | Kirklees | 11,097 | 143.0 | 63.2% | +7.8% |
| 220 | Lewisham | 4,260 | 142.8 | 61.7% | +6.2% |
| 221 | Huntingdonshire | 5,406 | 142.7 | 59.2% | +10.0% |
| 222 | Camden | 3,601 | 142.6 | 70.3% | +5.5% |
| 223 | Runnymede | 2,179 | 142.1 | 57.5% | +4.2% |
| 224 | Melton | 1,790 | 142.0 | 57.8% | +3.9% |
| 225 | Lewes | 3,785 | 142.0 | 61.1% | +5.8% |
| 226 | Woking | 2,482 | 141.8 | 49.6% | +3.6% |
| 227 | Milton Keynes | 5,958 | 141.6 | 64.5% | +6.5% |
| 228 | Cheshire East | 13,016 | 141.4 | 63.7% | +5.1% |
| 229 | North Norfolk | 4,966 | 141.4 | 63.0% | +9.1% |
| 230 | West Northamptonshire | 10,481 | 141.3 | 61.9% | +6.4% |
| 231 | Forest of Dean | 3,128 | 141.1 | 58.9% | +4.3% |
| 232 | Braintree | 4,687 | 140.9 | 58.7% | +10.3% |
| 233 | Rugby | 2,957 | 140.7 | 59.3% | +7.7% |
| 234 | Bedford | 4,531 | 140.6 | 61.2% | +6.2% |
| 235 | South Norfolk | 5,004 | 140.2 | 65.4% | +6.4% |
| 236 | East Cambridgeshire | 2,676 | 139.7 | 61.5% | +6.4% |
| 237 | Reigate and Banstead | 3,908 | 139.2 | 62.9% | +7.7% |
| 238 | Torridge | 2,815 | 139.2 | 60.9% | +6.5% |
| 239 | East Suffolk | 9,759 | 138.9 | 60.7% | +5.5% |
| 240 | Rushcliffe | 3,767 | 138.9 | 61.3% | +5.5% |
| 241 | Swindon | 5,308 | 138.6 | 57.0% | +7.3% |
| 242 | Brighton and Hove | 5,383 | 138.0 | 60.0% | +4.5% |
| 243 | Barnet | 8,093 | 137.6 | 65.8% | +6.3% |
| 244 | Wychavon | 4,716 | 137.3 | 58.8% | +6.7% |
| 245 | Somerset | 19,860 | 137.1 | 57.3% | +5.7% |
| 246 | Dorset | 15,860 | 137.0 | 60.2% | +5.9% |
| 247 | Fareham | 3,958 | 136.8 | 57.4% | +5.5% |
| 248 | North Hertfordshire | 3,628 | 136.6 | 58.7% | +5.4% |
| 249 | West Suffolk | 5,216 | 136.4 | 58.3% | +5.5% |
| 250 | Ribble Valley | 2,185 | 136.4 | 62.7% | +7.2% |
| 251 | Hounslow | 4,784 | 136.0 | 65.8% | +9.3% |
| 252 | Bath and North East Somerset | 5,128 | 135.8 | 59.5% | +6.1% |
| 253 | Uttlesford | 2,685 | 135.3 | 58.5% | +6.6% |
| 254 | Dacorum | 3,709 | 134.6 | 58.8% | +6.1% |
| 255 | Cheltenham | 3,140 | 134.3 | 55.8% | +4.4% |
| 256 | Bromley | 7,711 | 133.7 | 63.1% | +5.5% |
| 257 | East Hertfordshire | 3,821 | 133.2 | 59.3% | +5.3% |
| 258 | New Forest | 6,984 | 133.1 | 61.8% | +6.3% |
| 259 | Tunbridge Wells | 3,083 | 133.1 | 62.8% | +5.9% |
| 260 | Cornwall | 19,393 | 132.5 | 56.2% | +6.4% |
| 261 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 2,630 | 132.4 | 63.2% | +8.2% |
| 262 | Westminster | 3,391 | 132.2 | 71.7% | +7.4% |
| 263 | Derbyshire Dales | 2,691 | 132.0 | 63.5% | +3.9% |
| 264 | Reading | 2,788 | 131.0 | 56.9% | +5.8% |
| 265 | Tewkesbury | 2,821 | 130.3 | 53.3% | +6.7% |
| 266 | Maldon | 2,276 | 130.3 | 58.0% | +7.8% |
| 267 | East Devon | 6,061 | 130.2 | 59.3% | +5.9% |
| 268 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 3,767 | 129.5 | 63.4% | +6.8% |
| 269 | Chelmsford | 4,527 | 129.2 | 58.6% | +7.7% |
| 270 | Merton | 3,574 | 129.0 | 63.5% | +5.4% |
| 271 | Wealden | 5,669 | 129.0 | 61.4% | +5.2% |
| 272 | South Cambridgeshire | 4,274 | 128.8 | 61.1% | +7.4% |
| 273 | Wiltshire | 15,047 | 128.8 | 58.0% | +6.6% |
| 274 | Tandridge | 2,403 | 128.6 | 64.1% | +5.5% |
| 275 | Stratford-on-Avon | 4,665 | 128.3 | 62.0% | +6.1% |
| 276 | Mid Devon | 2,617 | 127.9 | 57.5% | +3.6% |
| 277 | Surrey Heath | 2,383 | 127.6 | 62.0% | +5.3% |
| 278 | Central Bedfordshire | 7,104 | 127.6 | 58.0% | +8.4% |
| 279 | Herefordshire, County of | 6,367 | 127.5 | 59.0% | +3.5% |
| 280 | Babergh | 3,242 | 126.9 | 60.5% | +4.1% |
| 281 | Bracknell Forest | 2,547 | 126.2 | 60.3% | +5.6% |
| 282 | West Devon | 2,143 | 126.1 | 59.6% | +5.7% |
| 283 | Cherwell | 3,701 | 126.0 | 60.0% | +7.7% |
| 284 | Harborough | 2,905 | 125.6 | 60.6% | +6.1% |
| 285 | St Albans | 3,190 | 125.0 | 61.1% | +5.4% |
| 286 | Stroud | 3,622 | 124.8 | 55.8% | +6.3% |
| 287 | Rushmoor | 1,943 | 124.8 | 57.2% | +8.7% |
| 288 | Chichester | 4,313 | 123.6 | 60.0% | +4.6% |
| 289 | Oxford | 2,357 | 123.3 | 61.3% | +4.1% |
| 290 | Basingstoke and Deane | 4,116 | 123.3 | 59.9% | +6.5% |
| 291 | Warwick | 3,488 | 122.8 | 60.0% | +6.7% |
| 292 | Cotswold | 3,003 | 122.7 | 58.5% | +8.5% |
| 293 | Rutland | 1,311 | 122.6 | 59.7% | +3.6% |
| 294 | Mid Suffolk | 3,384 | 122.5 | 61.1% | +3.6% |
| 295 | Elmbridge | 3,084 | 121.6 | 62.7% | +3.8% |
| 296 | Mid Sussex | 3,977 | 121.4 | 59.5% | +5.0% |
| 297 | Buckinghamshire | 12,959 | 121.4 | 61.2% | +5.7% |
| 298 | Wandsworth | 3,905 | 120.9 | 64.5% | +5.3% |
| 299 | Horsham | 4,159 | 119.8 | 58.2% | +5.5% |
| 300 | Mole Valley | 2,514 | 119.2 | 61.6% | +8.9% |
| 301 | South Hams | 3,066 | 119.0 | 59.6% | +5.7% |
| 302 | Test Valley | 3,389 | 117.7 | 56.7% | +7.4% |
| 303 | Winchester | 3,237 | 116.8 | 56.9% | +6.0% |
| 304 | Cambridge | 1,950 | 116.7 | 59.3% | +6.4% |
| 305 | Kingston upon Thames | 2,915 | 116.3 | 62.8% | +3.4% |
| 306 | Vale of White Horse | 3,374 | 116.1 | 60.6% | +5.9% |
| 307 | Guildford | 2,889 | 115.5 | 59.1% | +6.7% |
| 308 | Hart | 2,364 | 114.6 | 57.9% | +8.1% |
| 309 | South Oxfordshire | 3,655 | 113.1 | 58.9% | +6.1% |
| 310 | West Oxfordshire | 2,964 | 112.8 | 60.6% | +4.8% |
| 311 | Wokingham | 3,516 | 111.8 | 58.6% | +4.3% |
| 312 | Waverley | 3,243 | 111.7 | 57.7% | +4.7% |
| 313 | East Hampshire | 3,366 | 109.5 | 59.1% | +5.2% |
| 314 | West Berkshire | 3,500 | 108.1 | 56.7% | +4.9% |
| 315 | Kensington and Chelsea | 2,334 | 106.6 | 70.9% | +5.2% |
| 316 | Richmond upon Thames | 3,030 | 93.2 | 59.8% | +4.9% |
| 317 | Isles of Scilly | 49 | 83.5 | 49.0% | +-7.5% |
| 318 | City of London | 86 | 63.8 | 67.4% | +-9.5% |
What happens next
The caseload is growing quickly, up 6.0% in a year and rising in every single council area, driven by an ageing population and by rising awareness. Growth ranged from 2.0% in Westmorland and Furness to 11.0% in Rochford.
In Scotland, Attendance Allowance has been replaced by Pension Age Disability Payment, administered by Social Security Scotland, which is why this analysis covers England and Wales only.
If you think you might qualify, the claim is made on form AA1 from GOV.UK or by phoning the Attendance Allowance helpline. Age UK, Citizens Advice and most local authority welfare rights teams will help fill it in free of charge, and that help measurably improves success rates.
Methodology and sources
Claim counts are Attendance Allowance cases with entitlement at November 2025 and November 2024, by local authority of residence and award type, extracted from the DWP’s Stat-Xplore service (dataset: AA: Cases with entitlement, data from May 2018) on 21 August 2026. Figures cover claims under DWP policy ownership in England and Wales; claims held by residents of Scotland, people abroad and a small number with unknown addresses are excluded. DWP applies statistical disclosure control, so the sum of local authority rows differs from the published national total by 32 cases, about 0.002%. Values are shown as published.
Rates use Office for National Statistics mid-2025 population estimates on April 2023 local authority boundaries. Attendance Allowance is payable from State Pension Age, currently 66, so the denominator is residents aged 66 and over, calculated as the published 65-and-over estimate minus the single-year estimate for age 65. Disability prevalence is from Census 2021 table TS038, using the share of all usual residents who reported their day-to-day activities were limited a lot. That measure covers all ages, not only pensioners, so it is a reasonable but imperfect control for underlying health; the correlation reported above should be read with that in mind. Weekly payment rates are from GOV.UK. The unclaimed benefit estimate is Policy in Practice’s, published for Money Saving Expert.
Source data: DWP Stat-Xplore, ONS and GOV.UK content contain public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Review Mobility’s selection, structure and presentation of the data, including the league table and CSV file, are released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Review Mobility with a link to this page.
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Frequently asked questions
How much is Attendance Allowance in 2026/27?
Attendance Allowance pays £76.70 a week at the lower rate and £114.60 a week at the higher rate in 2026/27, which is £3,988 or £5,959 a year. It is tax free and is not affected by income or savings.
How many people claim Attendance Allowance?
1,760,770 people in England and Wales were entitled to Attendance Allowance in November 2025, according to DWP records, up 6.0% on the year before. That is 15.7% of the population aged 66 and over, or about one in six.
Which area has the highest Attendance Allowance claim rate?
Hartlepool, where 263 people per 1,000 aged 66 and over claim it, roughly one in four. Tower Hamlets, Neath Port Talbot, Caerphilly and Swansea follow. The lowest rate among normal-sized councils is Richmond upon Thames at 93 per 1,000, about one in eleven.
Does Attendance Allowance include a mobility component?
No. Unlike Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance has no mobility component and cannot be used to join the Motability scheme. People who develop mobility problems after State Pension Age cannot start a new claim for the mobility component, though they keep it if they were already receiving it.
Is Attendance Allowance means tested?
No. It does not take account of income or savings, and it is not taxable. It can also increase Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, and may qualify a carer for Carer’s Allowance, so a successful claim is often worth more than the weekly rate alone.
How much Attendance Allowance goes unclaimed?
Policy in Practice estimates that more than 1.1 million pension-age households miss out on £5.2 billion a year. Our own figures show that if the 168 councils claiming below the national rate matched it, 111,081 more awards would be in payment, worth about £583 million a year.
Why do claim rates vary so much between councils?
Ill health is the biggest factor, and it explains about 62% of the variation between councils. The rest reflects age structure, awareness and the availability of advice services. Councils with near-identical disability rates can differ by 70 claims per 1,000 over-66s.
What about Scotland?
Attendance Allowance has been replaced in Scotland by Pension Age Disability Payment, administered by Social Security Scotland. Scottish cases sit outside DWP policy ownership and are excluded from this league table.
Cite this research
Review Mobility (2026), “One in four over-66s in Hartlepool gets Attendance Allowance: the local league table”, https://reviewmobility.co.uk/funding-grants/attendance-allowance-league-table/. Underlying data: DWP Stat-Xplore, ONS and Census 2021, Open Government Licence v3.0.
This research was not commissioned or paid for by anyone. The page carries no affiliate links. If you spot an error, email us and we will correct the page and note the correction here.
Published 21 August 2026
Cite this page
Free to reuse with credit to Review Mobility (CC BY 4.0). A link back is appreciated.