Local elections 2021: How Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes councils spend your money

Local elections will be held across Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes on Thursday 6 May.

People in the areas can cast their ballot in various county, district and borough council elections.

Local authorities are funded by a variety of sources, including council tax, government grants and other income, like parking charges.

Here is how £100 of your money is spent by these councils in these areas.

In mid-2019, 269,457 people were estimated to be living in the Buckinghamshire town.

Compared with England as a whole, Milton Keynes had a younger age profile with 27.4% of the population aged under 19, compared with 23.7% in England, the council said.

Setting out its budget for 2021/22, the authority said its priorities were supporting the most vulnerable, continuing Covid-19 support, action on climate change and sustainability and supporting jobs.

The council provides services to those in the Waltham Cross, Cheshunt, Goff's Oak, Wormley, Turnford, Hoddesdon and Broxbourne areas.

For 2020/21, its estimated net expenditure was £8.9m.

In 2019, the population of the borough was estimated at 97,279.

The proposed revenue budget for the county council in 2021/22 is £871.648m.

In 2019, the population it served was more than 1.1m people.

The council which serves Baldock, Letchworth, Hitchin, Royston and surrounding villages had an estimated population of 133,570 in 2019.

The authority said its objectives for 2021-2026 were to be a "welcoming, inclusive and efficient" council, build "thriving and resilient" communities, respond to environmental challenges, enable a co-operative economy and support the delivery of good quality and affordable homes.

The authority serves more than 140,000 people in South West Hertfordshire.

Its total budget is £60m gross and £14m net.

Stevenage was designated Britain's first new town in 1946.

In 2019/20, its population was recorded as 87,754.

The authority plans to deliver 7,500 new homes in the next 20 years.

The authority serves Abbots Langley, Carpenders Park, Chorleywood, Croxley Green, Eastbury, Heronsgate, Leavesden, Moor Park, Rickmansworth, Sarratt and South Oxhey.

Its estimated population in 2019 was 93,323.

Alongside usual services, the authority's most recent budget will set aside funding for tackling homelessness, responding to Covid, supporting wellbeing, caring for the environment and helping local businesses, the council said.

In 2019, the number of people living in the town was 96,577.

The borough which contains two new towns and various villages is regarded as one of the areas with the highest population growth in England and Wales, according to the council.

In 2019, its estimated population was 123,043.

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