Milton Keynes City Council is the local authority of the

City of Milton Keynes The City of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority area with both borough and city status, in Buckinghamshire. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Region. The borough abuts Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the remain ...

in Buckinghamshire, England. It is a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, having the powers of a

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

and district council combined. It has both

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, ...

and city status. The borough (which has a substantial rural component) is divided into 19 wards, electing 57 councillors.

History

The 'Milton Keynes District' was created on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, by the merger of Bletchley Urban District,

Newport Pagnell Urban District Newport Pagnell Urban District was a local government district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England, from 1897 to 1974. Origins When parish and district councils were established in December 1894 under the Local Government ...

and

Wolverton Urban District Wolverton Urban District was a local government district in Buckinghamshire, England, from 1920 to 1974, covering the town of Wolverton and its environs, including the town of Stony Stratford. A district covering this area existed from 1894 to ...

, together with

Newport Pagnell Rural District Newport Pagnell was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England, from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north-east of the county. History The district had its origins in the Newport Pagnell Poor Law Union, wh ...

and that part of

Winslow Rural District Winslow Rural District was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north of the county. Origins The district had its origins in the Winslow Poor Law Union, which ha ...

within the designated New Town area. The council was formed under the same act as the Milton Keynes District Council, subsidiary to

Buckinghamshire County Council Buckinghamshire County Council was the upper-tier local authority for the administrative county and later the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in England, the United Kingdom established in 1889 following the Local Government Act 1888 ...

. The council was first elected in 1973, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the District of Milton Keynes on 1 April 1974. In 1974, the council gained

, entitling it to be known as Milton Keynes Borough Council and to annually appoint a (ceremonial) Mayor of Milton Keynes. It was envisaged through the

that Milton Keynes as a

non-metropolitan district council Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non-m ...

would share power with the then

(now Buckinghamshire Council). This arrangement lasted until 1997 when the district council gained responsibility for services that had previously been provided for Milton Keynes by the county council. On 1 April 1997, following a recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England, the Borough became a self-governing

Unitary Authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, and the council renamed itself Milton Keynes Council. Since the gaining of city status in August 2022, Milton Keynes Council changed their name to Milton Keynes City Council, and amended their logo to emphasise their newfound status.

Powers and functions

The local council derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, Milton Keynes is within a non-metropolitan area of England. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether ...

, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

and is responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. The council also appoints members to Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority and the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel, both of which serve the borough.

Political control

One third of the council is elected each year for three years, followed by one year without election. Since 1996 political control of the council has been held by the following parties: From May 2014 to May 2021, the Labour Party held office as a

minority administration A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats i ...

. Since May 2021, the administration is a Labour Party and Liberal Democrats

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

Technology facilitation

In recent years, the Council has promoted the Milton Keynes urban area as a test-bed for experimental urban technologies. One of these projects is the LUTZ Pathfinder pod, an autonomous (self-driving) vehicle built by the Transport Systems

Catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stor ...

. Trials took place in Milton Keynes in 2016.

Logos

Milton Keynes City Council has two logos: The first logo was the oak leaf which was used since the 1990s. The second logo is more colourful than the previous version, and consists of the two letters ''M'' and ''K,'' representing Milton Keynes. The 'M' is coloured in azure and 'K' is coloured in green: this is the logo that is currently in use, with a recent revision to change the font and text accompanying it to mark Milton Keynes' city status.

Civic Offices

The headquarters of the Council and the Council chamber is the Civic Offices building at 1 Saxon Gate East in

Central Milton Keynes Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council. The district is approximately long by wide and occupies some of the highest land in Mi ...

. The building dates from 1979 and was designed by architects Faulkner Brown. The building is sited very close to the moot mound (meeting place) of the Anglo-Saxon Sigelai (or Secklow) Hundred.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Unitary authority councils of England Local education authorities in England Local authorities in Buckinghamshire Leader and cabinet executives Billing authorities in England 1974 establishments in England

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...