Councils in England

Check whether there are one or two council tiers

In some parts of England a district council and a county council share responsibility for local services. Elsewhere a unitary authority, metropolitan borough or London borough provides the main local tier. The postcode finder shows both district and county links where they apply. Source: GOV.UK council guide.

Which council deals with the service?

District councils usually deal with housing, planning applications and waste collection. County councils usually deal with education, social care and larger transport services. Local arrangements can differ. Use the official council website to check a specific service. Source: GOV.UK.

The Kent county page links to its district councils. Its map shows county electoral divisions. District pages show district wards. Those boundaries need not match.

Partial elections need a different comparison

Some council elections fill only part of the council. The seats won in one year’s recorded contests are therefore different from the full council seat total. Our pages place these figures in separate sections and retain the result year on every table.

Reorganisation can change what a name means

This directory uses May 2026 boundaries. Historical records retain their source areas. Abolished districts are not added together and presented as a result for a new unitary council. Shadow councils in the annual archive are not substituted for the operating council.

A county and its districts cover some of the same residents. Do not add their populations to calculate a regional total. For council tax, compare the full-area Band D bill with another full-area bill. A county precept alone covers only part of the charge.

London has its own borough comparison guide. The data method explains missing records and boundary dates.