SWINDON council has just over £800 per head to spend on each resident – compared to almost £10,000 in one London area.

New figures released by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles shows the average amount spent per resident in each area is average just over £1,000.

But in the City of London the amount is a staggering £9,856.43 per each of its 11,487 residents.

In Swindon the council has £821.43 per head for each of its residents and £823.59 for Wiltshire. In Reading there is £964.34 per head and £901.86 in Oxford.

In Bath and North East Somerset the figure is lower at £799.29.

Mr Pickles is encouraging residents to compare their area with other areas and ask the council how the money is being spent.

Mr Pickles said: "The public knows that councils - and indeed central government - can deliver far better for value money.

It's not how much you spend, but how you spend it.

"This is not to say that making the savings to council budgets won't be challenging for councillors and council officers.

It's very easy to salami-slice budgets or cut the frontline first. But that's the easy option.

“It's harder – but better – to deliver transformational change, finding new ways of working. Transparency is at that heart of that process."

Almost a quarter of councils covering 37% of the population have over £1,000 for every resident living in their boundaries.

Windsor and Maidenhead have the lowest to spend per resident at just £715.06. The Government has already published similar maps showing the council tax per head contribution and how much councils receive in central government grant per head.