Kent County Council: local authority assessment

About Kent County Council

Demographics

Kent County Council (KCC) is a county council governing the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the separate unitary authority of Medway. KCC is divided into 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils; it is known as 'the garden of England' as a minimum of 72.7% of the land in each of the 12 districts and boroughs is rural. KCC is one of the largest local authorities in England in terms of population served and the largest local authority of its type. Kent is 1,368 square miles and has over 350 miles of coastline. Coastal communities often face complex challenges in terms of service provision, economic insecurity, and remoteness.

KCC has a total population of approximately 1.61 million people. The population is expected to rise by 18.2% between 2022 and 2040. Kent has an ageing population. Just over a fifth of Kent’s population is aged 65 and over (20.5%). Forecasts show the number of over 65 year olds is forecast to increase by 40.7% between 2022 and 2040. 89.40% of the population is White British, with people of an Asian background being the largest single other ethnic group, representing 4.4% of the total population. According to the 2021 Census, 281,423 people in Kent (17.9% of the resident population) were recorded as disabled. A further 116,477 had a long-term health condition but their day-to-day activities were not limited by their condition. In 2021 it was estimated 9.1% of the population were providing unpaid care.

On the Index of Multiple Deprivation, Kent has a score of 4 (with 10 being the least deprived and 1 the most deprived). The level of deprivation in 9 out of 12 Kent local authority districts has increased since 2015 relative to other areas in England. Thanet continues to rank as the most deprived District area in Kent. Tunbridge Wells continues to rank as the least deprived local authority area in Kent.

KCC sits within the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB), which also includes the Kent and Medway NHS Social Care Partnership Trust and the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. There are 4 Health Care Partnerships, 3 acute and 2 community health trusts with 7 acute hospitals and 11 community hospitals.

KCC is made up of 81 members. At the time of this assessment, Kent County Council was under a Conservative majority control. Following the election on 5 May 2025, they are now under a Reform UK majority control.

• The local authority estimated in 2023-2024, its total budget would be £2,287,446,000. Its actual spend for the year was £2,477,774,000, which was £190,328,000 more than estimated.
• The local authority estimated it would spend £623,684,000 of its total budget on Adult Social Care in 2023-2024. Its actual spend was £663,100,000, which was £39,416,000 more than estimated.
• In 2023-2024, 26.76% of the budget was spent on Adult Social Care.
• The local authority has raised the full Adult Social Care precept for 2023-2024, with a value of 2%. Please note the amount raised through Adult Social Care precept varies from local authority to local authority.
• Approximately 21,515 people were accessing long-term Adult Social Care support, and approximately 5,985 people were accessing short-term Adult Social Care support in 2022-2023. Local authorities spend money on a range of Adult Social Care services, including supporting individuals. No two care packages are the same and vary significantly in their intensity, duration, and cost.