Council structure

Local government can be either unitary or two-tier.  Unitary councils, such as Milton Keynes, manage all local authority services in their area.  The administrative region of Buckinghamshire is two-tier, with one County Council and four District Councils. Buckinghamshire also has 165 indepenedent parish/town councils.

We manage services such as trading standards, highways, social care, schools, libraries and household waste sites.  District councils run services including planning applications, environmental health, housing benefits, refuse collection, leisure services and council tax collection.

We have 57 councillors who represent all parts of the county and are elected every 4 years.  The Council is Conservative controlled and led by Martin Tett. Its decision-making body is called the cabinet and is a group of 8 councillors who meet 3-weekly in public. Find out more about our councillors.

Councillors who are not members of the cabinet take part in scrutinising the work of the council, providing a balance to the cabinet function.  Find out more about scrutiny.

Full County Council meetings (all councillors) are held 7 times a year. Councillors also sit on a range of committees and other meetings.

The councillors set out their priorities for the Council in the Corporate Plan.  View the 2011-13 Corporate Plan

The Council is managed on councillors’ behalf by Chief Executive Chris Williams and his senior management team.