About the Council
The council
We have 49 elected councillors who make decisions to help improve our services.
The decisions are informed by the ideas of the political parties they represent.
We employ 571 officers, who help to deliver our services to residents and work with councillors to achieve our aims for customers.
We also have a Mayor. To find out more visit our Mayor pages.
Committees
Full council
Full council is our governing body.
Committees
Cabinet
- Leader of the council
- Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Enforcement (Deputy Leader)
- Cabinet Member for Healthier Stronger Communities
- Cabinet Member for Climate Transition and Nature Recovery
- Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Management
- Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion and Safety
- Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness
- Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources
- Cobtree Manor Estate Charity Committee
- Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum Trust Committee
Overview and Scrutiny
Policy Advisory Committees (PAC)
- Climate Transition, Corporate and Environmental Services
- Housing and Community Cohesion
- Planning and Healthier Stronger Communities
Regulatory committees
- Audit Governance and Standards Committee
- Licensing Committee (and Licensing sub-committee when required)
- Planning Committee
Other committees
A full list can be found in our Your Councillors section.
Management
The day-to-day management of the council and its services is carried out by the Corporate Leadership Team.
- Alison Broom, Chief Executive
- William Cornall, Director of Regeneration and Place
- Mark Green, Director of Finance and Business Improvement
- Angela Woodhouse, Director of Strategy, Insight and Governance
Employee structure and salaries
The government has set out a clear commitment to improved transparency about how it spends public money.
This includes details of the size and shape of public bodies and about the work employees do for their companies.
Staff structure
Senior staff salaries
Mid Kent Services
Mid Kent Services (MKS) is a partnership between us, Swale Borough Council and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council which started in 2008. Working together we aim to improve and reduce the cost of services to residents across Mid-Kent.
The partnership is flexible enough to meet the needs of each partner, which ensures its long term future. Some projects and services involve all three boroughs, while some only involve two. Others involve neighbouring boroughs, for example Ashford Borough Council is part of the shared Internal Audit service.
Each partner leads the partnership for a year starting in September. Maidstone are leading the partnership this year. Next year it'll be Swale.
How is MKS governed
- MKS Board
- Cabinet/Committee meetings
- Shared service board meetings
- Full Council meetings
Shared services
There are currently seven shared services in the partnership and one shared manager post. The host authority is the one that employs those in the shared service.
| Service | Host Authority | Other Authorities |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Health | Tunbridge Wells | Maidstone and Swale |
| Human Resources | Maidstone | Swale |
| ICT | Maidstone | Swale and Tunbridge Wells |
| Internal Audit | Maidstone | Ashford, Swale and Tunbridge Wells |
| Land Charges | Maidstone | Swale and Tunbridge Wells |
| Legal | Swale | Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells |
| Licensing | Sevenoaks | Tunbridge Wells, London Borough of Bexley, and Maidstone |
| Mid Kent Services (MKS) | No host | Joint board |
| Parking Enforcement | No host | Maidstone and Swale |
| Planning Support | Maidstone | Swale and Tunbridge Wells |
| Revenues and Benefits | Maidstone | Tunbridge Wells |
| Waste | Maidstone | Ashford, Swale and Kent County Council |
Town twinning
Maidstone is twinned with Beauvais, in France.
Beauvais is one of the oldest towns in France. Today, Beauvais is a town of culture with many museums, sporting events, festive and popular urban happenings. Some of the historical sites of Beauvais are absolute 'musts' such as the impressive Cathedral and the Church of Saint-Étienne.
The Twinning Association Committee meets monthly and has an annual meeting and a half-yearly meeting.
Trips are organised to Beauvais each year to the Jeanne Hachette Festival and a sporting weekend is held each year in the autumn, with the hosting of the event taken in turn, one year in Beauvais, the next in Maidstone.
The Committee organises a number of events each year to enable members to get together and members keep in touch with a newsletter which is circulated every three to four months.
Annual governance statements
You can find a copy of the code of corporate governance on our dedicated webpage.