Council Structure
The Council is structured as follows:
- County Council
The County Council is made up of 84 elected county councilors. 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 councilors. The cabinet is responsible for the strategic thinking and decisions that steer how the council is run. The cabinet meets monthly and take decisions collectively.
- Local Boards
Local boards are local community groups that hold regular public meetings across Kent so that the people of Kent to voice issues that affect their community. They also allocate funding to local projects. There are 12 local boards in Kent, and every county councilor is required to be a member of one local board.
The work of the Council is organized into departments and divisions.
- Chief Executive's Department
- This department is responsible for running the council. It manages personnel and development, finance, legal and democratic services, corporate policy and performance management, public health, information technology, communications, commercial services, and partnerships with other agencies.
- Communities
- The role of this department is to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to play active roles in their communities. It is organized into units for adult education, community safety, cultural development, emergency planning, libraries and archives, the Kent drug and alcohol team, Kent scientific services, Kent Volunteers, registration services (births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships), sports development, Kent Trading Standards, the Turner Contemporary, youth offending service, and youth services. 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, which allows unlimited travel around Kent for a year at the cost of £100. 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.
- Children, Families and Education
- provides education and social care services to Kent's children, young people, their families and communities.
- Adult Social Services
- provides services for older people and adults with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, sensory disabilities or mental health needs.
- Environment and Regeneration
- Kent highway services, environment and waste, change and development, resources strategy and planning, regeneration and economy,
- Finance
- manages finance, value for money, external funding, audit and procurement.
Read more about this topic: Kent County Council
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