The Demos-PWC Good Growth for Cities Index ranks 50 UK cities against 12 economic factors, including jobs, income and housing.
Milton Keynes scored above average on seven of the 12 factors, with MK's economy having an above-average growth rate of 7.4% in 2021.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Robin Bradburn, Cabinet Member for Economy, Recovery and Renewal, said: “I’m so proud of our local businesses, entrepreneurs and residents who have all helped our city recover as well as we have from the pandemic.
"This is a great achievement, and as a Council we will continue to do all we can to make sure our local economy continues to recover and grow.”
- The Diamond Resilience Programme, which provides specialist support and training to 100 small and medium size businesses on how to bounce back after COVID.
- The Council’s partnership with the Love Local Hub in centre:MK which provides support to 100 female entrepreneurs - the Hub has already made over £340,000 worth of sales.
- A Council partnership with MK ACT, a charity that helps people escape domestic violence, to support 100 women regain economic independence.
Councillor Pete Marland, Labour Leader of the Council, added: “It was our priority at the Council for Milton Keynes to have a strong, prosperous and fair recovery from the pandemic, and reports like this show how our city is achieving that.”
Cllr Alex Walker, Leader of the Conservative Group, said: “It is pleasing to see MK’s economy growing but there’s plenty more the Council should be doing to stimulate growth from free car parking in CMK, to support for high streets and more apprenticeships for young people.
“The most important thing right now, however, is to make sure we are supporting those residents who are being left behind. Households have just been hit by the Lib Dem - Labour Council’s 8th Council Tax rise in a row leaving families £500 worse off a year than they were in 2014. At the same time, they’ve seen local bus routes cut and they will soon see weekly recycling collections cut to fortnightly.
“Now is not the time for the Council to be celebratory. It looks desperately out of touch. This year is going to be incredibly tough for so many residents and the Council needs to work harder to deliver better services.”
The full report can be found here.
