The local authorityCouncil · district · England · 1 of 164 councils (district)

Folkestone and Hythe.

Labour Party-controlled district. £19m net revenue. 13 wards across 2 parliamentary constituencies.

Typedistrict
Seats30 councillors · 13 wards
Last election4 May 2023
Net revenue · 2025-26
£19m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,437
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
9/30
Labour Party 30%
Westminster
2
constituencies overlap · 1 MP party
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, Labour Party MPs.

Folkestone and Hythe is a district controlled by Labour Party (9 of 30 seats). Net revenue is £19m for 2025-26. It covers 13 wards spanning 2 parliamentary constituencies.

§ 01Composition.30 seats · last contested 4 May 2023

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 9Green 8Con 7Independent Berwick Hills Resident 2LD 2UK Independence Party (UKIP) 2

Labour Party 30% · last contested 4 May 2023

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Belinda WalkerLabBroadmead2023
Mike BlakemoreGrnCheriton2023
Polly BlakemoreGrnCheriton2023
Rebecca Tamsin ShoobGrnCheriton2023
Adrian Ashley LockwoodLabEast Folkestone2023
Connor Andrew McConvilleLabEast Folkestone2023
Jackie MeadeLabEast Folkestone2023
Abena Akuffo-KellyLabFolkestone Central2023
Laura DavisonLabFolkestone Central2023
Liz McShaneLabFolkestone Central2023
Nicola KeenLabFolkestone Harbour2019
Ray FieldLabFolkestone Harbour2019
Showing 12 of 30·All 30 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

66%
Council tax
£12.4m · median 61%
22%
Central grants
£4.2m · median 26%
11%
Business rates
£2.2m · median 11%

This is a high-council-tax councils (district): 66% of revenue from council tax, above the cohort median (61%).

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£305
County / upper-tier£1,691
Police£270
Fire & rescue£95
GLA precept£0
Parish average£76
Total Band-D£2,437

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.6 buckets · vs 163 other councils (district)

How does Folkestone and Hythe split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (district)-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Waste & Recycling33.9% of net spend · cohort median 32%
61 of 158+6% vs median
Planning & Economic Development20.6% of net spend · cohort median 14%
34 of 158+43% vs median
Housing & Homelessness19.6% of net spend · cohort median 14%
32 of 158+40% vs median
Culture & Leisure18.6% of net spend · cohort median 13%
35 of 158+39% vs median
Corporate & Central15.2% of net spend · cohort median 27%
144 of 158-43% vs median
Highways & Transport-7.9% of net spend · cohort median -2%
120 of 158
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 04Top suppliers.593 payments · £6.0m gross · 3 Mar 202627 Mar 2026

Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).

Top by total — last 180 days

SupplierPaidSharePmts
KENT COUNTY COUNCIL£2.24m37.5%5
MEARS LTD£0.47m7.8%20
PENTLAND HOMES£0.39m6.6%1
ATG (VENUES) LIMITED£0.21m3.5%3
CAN GEOTECHNICAL LTD£0.17m2.9%1
NRT BUILDING SERVICES GROUP LTD£0.16m2.6%15
SURESERVE COMPLIANCE SOUTH£0.13m2.2%6
RODDY NEW HOMES£0.13m2.2%1
KENT COUNTY COUNCIL (LASER)£0.13m2.1%34
OTTERPOOL PARK LLP£0.12m1.9%3

By service area · top supplier

Service-classified supplier data not yet ingested for this council.

§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.13 wards split across 2 parliamentary seats
ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Folkestone and Hythe1185% Tony VaughanLab
Ashford215% Sojan JosephLab
Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 163 other councils (district)
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
593 payments · 3 Mar 202627 Mar 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level