Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the unitary authority of Medway. Kent County Council is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 81 elected councillors. It is one of the largest local authorities in England in terms of population served and the largest local authority of its type.[notes 1] The council is based at County Hall in Maidstone. It has been under Conservative majority control since 1997.
History
Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over many administrative functions that had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. The areas covered by the new county councils were termed administrative counties. In Kent the administrative county differed from the historic county in a few places:[2]
Urban sanitary districts which straddled county boundaries were placed entirely in one county, which saw Tunbridge Wells placed entirely in Kent, having previously straddled Kent and Sussex.
The first elections to the county council were held in January 1889 and it formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at the Sessions House in Maidstone. John Farnaby Lennard was appointed the first chairman of the council.[3]
The county council's duties at first were few, but gradually it absorbed school boards, the rural highway boards and the boards of guardians. The county council adopted the Sessions House as its meeting place.[4]
Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to November 2024 the composition of the council is as follows:[14][15]
Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 81 councillors representing 72 electoral divisions, with each division electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.[17]
Premises
The council is based at County Hall, a complex of buildings on County Road in Maidstone which incorporates the old Sessions House of 1824, which had been the meeting place of the quarter sessions which preceded the county council.[4] The council has various other buildings around the county as well.[18]
Responsibilities
The council is responsible for public services such as education, transport, strategic planning, emergency services, social services, public safety and waste disposal.[19]
Transportation
Kent Top Travel[20] was owned by Kent County Council, and was established by them in 2005. It operated the council's bus network.[21] It was argued that its existence stimulated competition. It also operated a coach charter fleet. The majority of Kent Top Travel's route portfolio comprised rural, evening and Sunday services won under competitive tender from Kent County Council and other local authorities in open competition with private bus operators. Kent Top Travel operated Canterbury City Council's park & ride service from October 2008 until 2013.[22][23] Kent Top Travel operated both single and double deck buses as well as charter coaches. Buses were painted in a white and green livery, the Canterbury park & ride fleet silver and green. Coaches were painted both white & red, and yellow.
Following an independent report criticising Kent County Council's trading companies, in December 2012 it was decided to close Kent Top Travel once its existing contracts expired.[21][24][25] Kent Top Travel ceased trading on 1 October 2013.[26]
The County Council is made up of 81 elected county councillors. The full council meets seven times a year to agree the council's Constitution and amendments to it, appoint the Leader, and approve the policy framework and budget (including the level of Council Tax).
Cabinet
The cabinet is made up of ten county councillors. The cabinet is responsible for the strategic thinking and decisions that steer how the council is run. The cabinet meets monthly and takes decisions collectively.
Local Boards
Local boards are local community groups that hold regular public meetings across Kent, so that the people of Kent can voice issues that affect their community. They also allocate funding to local projects. There are 12 local boards in Kent, and every county councillor is required to be a member of one local board.
The work of the Council is organized into directorates:
Strategic and Corporate Services
supports the work of the directorates by providing specialist expertise and strategic direction. The department also leads and co-ordinates major change and organisational development.: It manages services that include human resources, finance, governance, law and democracy, strategic commissioning, property and infrastructure, information technology, media and communications, consultation and engagement, customer relations including gateways and contact centre, business intelligence and policy.
Children, Young People and Education
It combines Education services with universal and targeted services for children and young people designed to reduce demand for specialist services, also provided in this directorate. By focusing on prevention and early intervention, their aim is to reduce demand in specialist children's social services by helping families earlier, improving parenting skills and the health and educational outcomes of young children, ensuring they are school ready. KCC will intervene earlier to support families in crisis through area based working and joined up teams providing a more seamless service and better working arrangements with partner organisations.: This encompasses the Kent Youth County Council which provides the young people of the county to have a voice on the issues that matter to young people aged 11–18. Successes of the youth council include the introduction of the Kent Freedom Pass in 2007, which later rebranded in 2019 to The KCC Travel Saver. The scheme offers significant discounts on bus travel for children and students within Kent, enabling cost savings of up to 50% for eligible users.[28] The Youth County Council holds its elections every November, and four young people from each of the 12 districts are elected to a two-year term. The Kent Youth County Council is also affiliated with the UK Youth Parliament and British Youth Council.[29]
Adult Social Care and Health
Provides support and care for adults who need assistance due to age, disability, or health conditions. It aims to help individuals live as independently as possible while ensuring their well-being and safety.[30]
Growth, Environment and Transport
This includes strategic responsibility for the future of the county in terms of planning, economic development, transport policy, and major transport improvement schemes, waste disposal and recycling services. In addition to a range of leisure and cultural facilities including the Turner Contemporary; country parks; libraries; and enforcement services including trading standards and community safety.[31]
Joint arrangements with Medway
Kent County Council co-operates with the unitaryMedway Council in many ways, for instance in the Kent and Medway Local Plan, and together they run joint agencies. Kent is combined with Medway for the purposes of representation in Parliament. The combined area elects 17 MPs, of whom 14 represent seats entirely within the Kent County Council area and another whose constituency is in both Kent and Medway.
