MK City Council are taking steps to lead the way in UK

City Council offers ‘Golden Hello’ to qualified social workers

Milton Keynes City Council has launched a new Children’s Social Care recruitment drive with a £6,000 ‘Golden Hello’ to reward qualified social workers who join its expanding teams.

Qualified social workers are an essential part of the City Council’s Children’s Services team, which last year was commended by Ofsted as Good with some Outstanding areas. MK City Council aims to build on that success, attracting experienced social workers by offering them a Golden Hello and a very positive working environment.

Qualified social workers earn minimum starting salary of £35,235 (pro rata) at the City Council and most roles also receive an annual £4,000 Retention Payment (for staying with the council) plus a relocation allowance of up to £8,000 and access to benefits including a car leasing scheme.

Social workers and senior practitioners work together to ensure children and young people receive the right support at the right time, helping families where children have additional needs, making care plans, and ensuring vulnerable young people are protected. Specialist local teams include a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub where social workers and blue light partners share expertise and resources.

Search for available roles and find out more about the Golden Hello, as well as training and career opportunities, and thoughts from current team members at www.mkcounciljobs.org.uk/cs-care

MK has country’s largest increase in recycling

New Government figures show that Milton Keynes has the biggest rise in recycling rates of any place in England, leapfrogging dozens of other areas to become one of the country’s greenest recycling cities.

Milton Keynes is now one of the top recyclers, rising an incredible 76 places in the rankings from 83 to 7.

Milton Keynes City Council is asking for local people’s support to get to number 1 next year by making sure that everything that can be recycled is recycled, into the right bin.

Official statistics show 60.2% of the city’s household waste was sent for recycling, reuse or composting in 2023/24, up from 48.1% the previous year. The national average rate for recycling is 44%.

The rise follows Milton Keynes City Council introducing cleaner and greener recycling and waste collections in September 2023 when, among other changes, local people started separating their paper and card from plastic, metal, and glass into two bins. The red and blue wheelie bins have made it easier for local people to sort their recyclables, and by encouraging more people to start recycling, the city council has seen the amount of recycling it processes rise by more than a third.

As the figures for 2024/25 will cover a full year of wheelie bin collections, the city should reach an even higher position in the chart next year.