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Kent: what’s happening where you live

What the council itself has published on the five things it most shapes for a household: homes, getting about, the bill, the local environment and schools. Each line is quoted from the council’s own document, with the link. This page says what was decided or proposed; it never says whether it was right.

This page is built from official registers only; the council’s own publications have not been read yet, and every line below says so where that leaves a gap.

Kent County Council: County (upper tier), England, South East. GOV.UK lists it as a county council. ONS code E10000016.

Council website · Publication scheme

Do it online

The council’s own service pages as listed by GOV.UK’s Local Links Manager (Open Government Licence), refreshed weekly; the same list of everyday services, in the same order, for every council, in GOV.UK’s wording.

Housing

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Transport

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Council tax

Band D set by Kent for 2026–27: £1,758.60. MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (Open Government Licence).

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Environment

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Education

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Changes to schools recorded by the Department for Education Updated automatically

No school here is currently recorded as proposed to open or close.

In the last twelve months: 12 opened (10 academy converter, 2 new provision), 12 closed (10 academy converter, 2 closure)

Get Information about Schools, DfE’s register of every school in England, refreshed daily (Open Government Licence). The register’s own reason is shown: most closures and openings are a school becoming an academy, which changes who runs it, not whether it is there.

What the council plans to spend, 2026–27

The budget for each service, as Kent reported it to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The same headings, in the same order, for every council in England.

Kent: budget by service, 2026 to 2027
ServiceBudget
Education services£1,449.3 million
Highways and transport services£110.6 million
Children's social care£433.5 million
Adult social care£834.3 million
Public health£96.1 million
Housing services (general fund only)£6.2 million
Cultural and related services£29.5 million
Environmental and regulatory services£101.5 million
Planning and development services£10.5 million
Police servicesnone budgeted
Fire and rescue servicesnone budgeted
Central services£61.4 million
Other servicesnone budgeted
Total service expenditure£3,132.9 million

Net current expenditure: net of sales, fees and charges; spending funded by the NHS, such as through the Better Care Fund, is excluded.A minus figure means the service’s income is budgeted to be more than its spending. “None budgeted” usually means another body runs that service here. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Revenue Account Budget 2026 to 2027, individual local authority data (part 1), updated 11 June 2026 (Open Government Licence).

Kent in numbers

Official statistics for the whole council area. Each figure is the latest published, with the period it covers.

Total population
1,639,029 people 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMid-year estimate of the total number of people
Median age
42 years 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMedian age of people
Gross disposable household income per head
£27,664 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage income per person (£) after taxes and direct benefits
Gross median weekly pay
£656 30 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsGross median weekly pay based on where people live (£)
Children in relative poverty after housing costs
23.4% April 2024 to March 2025 · Department for Work and PensionsPercentage of children aged under 16 living in relative low income families After Housing Costs (AHC)
Claimant Count
3.3% 2025 · Office for National StatisticsPercentage of people aged 16 to 64 who are claiming unemployment-related benefits
Average house price
£346,904 July 2026 · HM Land RegistryAverage monthly price of a property (£)
Housing affordability ratio (residence-based)
8.7 affordability ratio 1 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsRatio of median house price to median gross annual residence-based earnings
Female healthy life expectancy
63.9 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage years expected to be lived in good health for females born in the given year
Male healthy life expectancy
62.5 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage years expected to be lived in good health for males born in the given year
Greenhouse gas emissions
4.5 tCO2e per capita 2024 · Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroGreenhouse gas emissions (tCO2e) per capita
Gigabit capable broadband
79.9% 1 January 2026 · OfcomPercentage of premises that have coverage from a gigabit-capable service (download speeds of 1,000 Mbps or more)
Public electric vehicle chargers
127.5 per 100,000 population 1 July 2026 · Department for Transport, sourced from ZapmapPublicly available electric vehicle chargers at all speeds per 100,000 people
Active businesses
68,965 number of enterprises 2024 · Office for National StatisticsBusinesses with turnover or employment in current year

Gathered by the Office for National Statistics in Explore Local Statistics (Open Government Licence), refreshed daily. Some figures aren’t published for every nation, so the list can be shorter outside England.

Who runs the council

81 seats in 2026. Run by: Reform UK, with a majority. Open Council Data (public domain).

Councillors by party: Reform UK 47, Liberal Democrats 12, Restore Britain 7, Conservative and Unionist 6, Green Party (E&W) 5, Independent / Other 2, Labour Party 2.

Next scheduled council election: 3 May 2029.

All 81 councillors, by ward
  • Pamela Williams (Reform UK) — Ashford Central
  • Dean Burns (Restore Britain) — Ashford East
  • Brian Collins (Reform UK) — Ashford Rural East
  • Bill Barrett (Conservative and Unionist) — Ashford Rural South
  • Jeremy Eustace (Reform UK) — Ashford Rural West
  • Nick Wibberley (Reform UK) — Ashford South
  • Amelia Randall (Independent / Other) — Birchington & Rural
  • Luke Evans (Reform UK) — Birchington & Rural
  • John Finch (Reform UK) — Broadstairs
  • Alister Brady (Labour Party) — Canterbury City North
  • Connie Nolan (Labour Party) — Canterbury City South
  • Alex Ricketts (Liberal Democrats) — Canterbury North
  • Mike Sole (Liberal Democrats) — Canterbury South
  • Tim Prater (Liberal Democrats) — Cheriton, Sandgate & Hythe East
  • Rob Yates (Green Party (E&W)) — Cliftonville
  • Claudine Russell (Conservative and Unionist) — Cranbrook
  • Ryan Waters (Reform UK) — Dartford East
  • Ben Fryer (Reform UK) — Dartford North East
  • Michael Brown (Reform UK) — Dartford Rural
  • Beverley Fordham (Reform UK) — Dartford West
  • Chris Burwash (Reform UK) — Deal & Walmer
  • Martin Paul (Reform UK) — Deal & Walmer
  • Bridget Porter (Reform UK) — Dover North
  • Albert Thorp (Reform UK) — Dover Town
  • James Defriend (Reform UK) — Dover Town
  • Paul King (Reform UK) — Dover West
  • Christopher Hespe (Reform UK) — Elham Valley
  • Antony Hook (Liberal Democrats) — Faversham
  • Mary Lawes (Reform UK) — Folkestone East
  • John Baker (Reform UK) — Folkestone West
  • Garry Sturley (Reform UK) — Gravesend East
  • Georgia Foster (Reform UK) — Gravesend East
  • Diane Morton (Reform UK) — Gravesham Rural
  • Paul Chamberlain (Reform UK) — Herne Bay East
  • Mark Mulvihill (Reform UK) — Herne Village & Sturry
  • Peter Osborne (Reform UK) — Hythe West
  • Oliver Bradshaw (Restore Britain) — Maidstone Central
  • Stuart Jeffery (Green Party (E&W)) — Maidstone Central
  • Geoffrey Samme (Liberal Democrats) — Maidstone North East
  • Sarah Emberson (Reform UK) — Maidstone Rural East
  • Spencer Dixon (Reform UK) — Maidstone Rural North
  • Brian Black (Restore Britain) — Maidstone Rural South
  • Robert Ford (Restore Britain) — Maidstone Rural West
  • Paul Thomas (Restore Britain) — Maidstone South
  • Linden Kemkaran (Reform UK) — Maidstone South East
  • Trudy Dean (Liberal Democrats) — Malling Central
  • Dodger Sian (Reform UK) — Malling North
  • Andrew Kennedy (Conservative and Unionist) — Malling North East
  • Sarah Hudson (Conservative and Unionist) — Malling Rural East
  • Harry Rayner (Conservative and Unionist) — Malling West
  • Jamie Henderson (Reform UK) — Margate
  • Matthew Moat (Reform UK) — Northfleet & Gravesend West
  • Sharon Roots (Reform UK) — Northfleet & Gravesend West
  • Terry Mole (Reform UK) — Ramsgate
  • Trevor Shonk (Reform UK) — Ramsgate
  • David Wimble (Reform UK) — Romney Marsh
  • Peter Evans (Reform UK) — Sandwich
  • Marc Logen (Reform UK) — Sevenoaks North & Darent Valley
  • Maxine Fothergill (Restore Britain) — Sevenoaks Rural North East
  • Robert Mayall (Reform UK) — Sevenoaks Rural South
  • Richard Streatfeild (Liberal Democrats) — Sevenoaks Town
  • Nigel Williams (Conservative and Unionist) — Sevenoaks West
  • Isabella Kemp (Restore Britain) — Sheppey
  • Maxwell Harrison (Reform UK) — Sheppey
  • Chris Palmer (Reform UK) — Sittingbourne North
  • Paul Webb (Reform UK) — Sittingbourne South
  • Rich Lehmann (Independent / Other) — Swale East
  • Richard Palmer (Reform UK) — Swale West
  • Dean Truder (Reform UK) — Swanley
  • Thomas Mallon (Reform UK) — Swanscombe & Greenhithe
  • Wayne Chapman (Reform UK) — Tenterden
  • Mark Hood (Green Party (E&W)) — Tonbridge
  • Paul Stepto (Green Party (E&W)) — Tonbridge
  • Colin Sefton (Liberal Democrats) — Tunbridge Wells East
  • Mark Ellis (Liberal Democrats) — Tunbridge Wells North
  • Mark Munday (Liberal Democrats) — Tunbridge Wells Rural
  • Martin Brice (Liberal Democrats) — Tunbridge Wells South
  • John Moreland (Liberal Democrats) — Tunbridge Wells West
  • Adrian Kibble (Reform UK) — Whitstable East & Herne Bay West
  • Stuart Heaver (Green Party (E&W)) — Whitstable West
  • Alan Cecil (Reform UK) — Wilmington

Each councillor’s register of interests is on the council’s own website; we have not yet located the page. Councillors from Open Council Data as recorded after the May 2026 elections; a by-election since then may have changed one seat. Attendance and allowances are not shown.

This council’s meeting papers are not yet read automatically, so decisions and motions are not listed here; they are on the council’s website.

Write to your councillors → WriteToThem (mySociety) finds them from your postcode; nothing is sent through this site.

Cite this page

Harvard style. Every figure on the page also names its original source, which is usually the better thing to cite.

Every council page has the same five headings in the same order. Sources are the council’s own publications and official statistics. Council list: mySociety, UK Local Authorities (CC BY 4.0) and WhatDoTheyKnow authorities (CC BY-SA 4.0); council websites, tiers and service links: GOV.UK (Open Government Licence); codes: ONS Code History Database (Open Government Licence). Corrections: hello@whatsittome.org.