Structure of administrative divisions of England
Administrative divisions of England.
For the purposes of
local government,
England is divided into as many as four levels of
administrative divisions. At some levels, various legislation has created alternative types of administrative division.
Regional level
Main articles: Regions of England
At the top level England is divided into nine regions each containing one or more county-level entities. The regions were created in 1994 and since the
1999 Euro-elections have been used as England's
European Parliament constituencies. All have the same status, however
London is the only region with any substantial
devolved power in the form of an
elected mayor and the
Greater London Authority. The regions also vary greatly in size, both in their areas covered and their populations.
County level
England is divided by the
Lieutenancies Act 1997 into areas for the appointment of
Lord Lieutenants, who are historically the Crown's representative in a county. Although not actually defined as such, these areas have become known as
ceremonial counties. These counties are sometimes used by people when describing where they live in England. However, many are not used as local government areas themselves, as many are too large or include large urban areas. They are taken into consideration though when drawing up Parliamentary constituency boundaries for example.
For administrative purposes, England is divided into four types of
county-level subnational entities used for local governance.
Metropolitan county
Main articles: Metropolitan county
There are six metropolitan counties, divided into
metropolitan boroughs, which cover large urban areas outside London. They were created in
1974. In 1986 their
county councils were abolished.
Shire county
Main articles: Shire county
The "shire counties" were also created in 1974 and are legally known as 'non-metropolitan counties'. They are divided into
non-metropolitan districts and cover much of the country, though mainly the rural areas.
Unitary authority
Main articles: Unitary authority
Unitary authorities were created in the 1990s and are single-tier authorities which combine the functions of county and district councils. They are defined either as counties consisting of a single district or districts of a county such as
Berkshire that has no county council. The
Isle of Wight is the exception, being a county council with no districts.
Greater London
Main articles: Greater London
Greater London was created in 1965 and is sometimes considered as a metropolitan county but it is not defined as such. It is divided into the
City of London and
London boroughs.
District level
Districts in England may also have the status of
borough,
city or
royal borough.
Metropolitan district
Main articles: Metropolitan borough
The metropolitan counties were divided into metropolitan districts which are usually called boroughs. When the county councils were abolished the metropolitan districts gained much of their powers and therefore function similar to other unitary authorities.
Non-metropolitan district
Main articles: Non-metropolitan district
Shire counties are divided into non-metropolitan districts. Power is shared with the county council, but shared differently to the metropolitan counties when first created.
Parish level
Main articles: Civil parish
The civil parish is the most local unit of government in England. Under the legislation that created Greater London, they are not permitted within its boundary. Not all of the rest of England is parished, though the number of parishes and total area parished is growing.
Exceptions
The following are exceptions to the general arrangements for local government in England and as a consequence are separately listed in legislation from the above types of local authorities where functions are allocated to particular groups of local authorities.
London boroughs
Main articles: London borough
In
Greater London, the 32 London borough councils have a status close to that of unitary authorities, but there is also a higher strategic tier, the
Greater London Authority, which oversees some of the functions performed elsewhere by Counties including transport, policing, the fire brigade and also economic development.
City of London
As well as the same general functions performed by the surrounding London boroughs, the
City of London has others which make it distinct from most local authorities, including extra-territorial possessions (such as
Hampstead Heath and Queens Park recreation ground in
Kilburn) and services (including veterinary services at
Heathrow Airport and domestic asbestos disposal) elsewhere in Greater London.
Inner and Middle Temples
Inner Temple and Middle Temple are small
liberties within the boundary of the City of London which function as their own local authorities.
Isles of Scilly
The
Isles of Scilly have a ''sui generis'' local authority, the Isles of Scilly Council, which is similar to a unitary authority found in the rest of England.
Changes proposed in 2004
Counties and unitary authorities of England assuming Option 2 had been chosen in all three northern referendums.
A
referendum was held in
North East England on
November 4,
2004 to see whether people there wished to have an
elected regional assembly. As part of the referendum, voters were to have been asked to choose which system of
unitary authorities they would like to see in the existing
county council areas if the regional assembly was approved. In the event, the vote in the North East was a decisive "no", making the proposed local government changes moot.
Similar referendums in
North West England and
Yorkshire and the Humber were postponed indefinitely: on
8 November 2004 the Deputy Prime Minister announced "I will not therefore be bringing forward orders for referendums in either the North West, or Yorkshire and the Humber".
★
Statement by Deputy Prime Minister
Most of the proposed changes would have required no change in the
county level entites, as they could have been be implemented by merging districts and abolition of the county council. Where borders were crossed, however, changes would have been needed. This impacted
Lancashire, where various parts were proposed for combination with
Blackpool and
Blackburn with Darwen (both unitaries),
Sefton (in
Merseyside),
Wigan (in
Greater Manchester), and southern
Cumbria; it also affects one proposal for
North Yorkshire, which would have merged the district of
Selby with the
East Riding of Yorkshire. Few of the boundary changes would have involved creating new borders - only the proposals to combine Blackpool with parts of
Wyre, and to split
West Lancashire between Wigan and Sefton would do this.
Changes under consideration in 2007
On
27 March,
2007, Local Government Minister
Phil Woolas announced
[1] that sixteen councils bidding for unitary status had been short listed to go forward for public consultation. On
26 July, 2007 Wollas' successor
John Healey announced that nine proposals would proceed, subject to the approval of
Parliament in the
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill (LGPIH)
[2]. The Government expects those approved for implementation to be fully operational by April
2009. The short-listed proposals were those made by:
| Region | Proposals | Result |
|---|
| East | Ipswich Borough Council - for a single unitary authority for the borough | Proceeding |
| Norwich City Council - for a unitary authority for the city | Referred to Boundary Committee [
★ ] |
| East Midlands | no bids |
| London | outside of scope |
| North East | Durham County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Proceeding |
| Northumberland County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Proceeding |
| Northumberland Districts - for two unitary authorities for the county | Not proceeding |
| North West | Cheshire County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Not proceeding |
| Chester City Council - for two unitary authorities for the county[3] | Proceeding |
| Cumbria County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Not proceeding |
| South East | Bedfordshire County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Not proceeding [
★
★ ] |
| Bedford Borough Council - for a unitary Bedford | Proceeding |
| South West | Cornwall County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Proceeding |
| Exeter City Council - for a unitary authority for the city | Proceeding |
| Somerset County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Not proceeding |
| Wiltshire County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Proceeding |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | North Yorkshire County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Not proceeding |
| West Midlands | Shropshire County Council - for a single unitary authority for the county | Proceeding |
[
★ ] - the Boundary Committee is asked to advise whether an alternative unitary proposal for Norwich based on revised council boundaries could deliver the required improvements.
[
★
★ ] - if Bedford Borough Council’s proposals are implemented other authorities in Bedfordshire including Bedfordshire County Council will be invited to propose a unitary solution for the remaining area of Bedfordshire.
References
1. Communities and Local Government - ''Woolas announces sixteen successful bids for unitary status to improve local services''. 27 March 2007.
2. Communities and Local Government - ''Healey announces nine successful unitary proposals''. 26 July 2007.
3. Chester City Council - People & Places
See also
★
Flags of English subdivisions
★
List of administrative divisions of England
★
History of local government in the United Kingdom
★
List of articles about local government in the United Kingdom
External links
★
''Council review may mean end of counties'' (''
The Guardian'', 29 December 2005)
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