Unitary authorities of England

Unitary authorities of England are local authorities that are responsible for the provision of all local government services within a district. They are constituted under the Local Government Act 1992, which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to allow the existence of counties that do not have multiple districts. They typically allow large towns to have separate local authorities from the less urbanised parts of their counties and provide a single authority for small counties where division into districts would be impractical. Unitary authorities do not cover all of England. Most were established during the 1990s and a further tranche were created in 2009. Unitary authorities have the powers and functions that are elsewhere separately administered by councils of non-metropolitan counties and the non-metropolitan districts within them.

History

Background

The term "unitary authority" was first used in the Redcliffe-Maud Report in 1969 in its current sense of a local government authority which combines the functions of a county council and a district council.^[1] Strictly speaking, the term does not necessarily mean a single level of local government within an area, because in some cases there are also parish councils in the same area.

Although the term was not applied to them, county boroughs between 1889 and 1974 were effectively unitary authorities, that is, single-tier administrative units. Before 1889, local government authorities had different powers and functions, but from medieval times some cities and towns had a high degree of autonomy as counties corporate. Some smaller settlements also enjoyed some degree of autonomy from regular administration as boroughs or liberties.

The Local Government Act 1972 created areas for local government where large towns and their rural hinterlands were administered together. The concept of unitary units was abandoned with a two-tier arrangement of county and district councils in all areas of England, except the Isles of Scilly where the small size and distance from the mainland made it impractical. In 1986 a broadly unitary system of local government was introduced in the six metropolitan counties and Greater London, where the upper-tier authorities were abolished and their functions were split between central government, the borough councils and joint boards.^[2]

1990s reform

Main article: Local Government Commission for England (1992)

A review in the 1990s was initiated in order to select non-metropolitan areas where new unitary authorities could be created.^[3] The resulting structural changes were implemented between 1995 and 1998. Bristol, Herefordshire, the Isle of Wight and Rutland were established as counties of a single district; the district councils of Berkshire became unitary; the counties of Avon, Humberside and Cleveland were broken up to create several unitary authorities; and a number of districts were split off from their associated counties.^[2] The changes caused the ceremonial counties to be defined separately, as they had been before 1974. The review caused 46 unitary authorities to be created.^[2]

2009 changes

Main article: 2009 structural changes to local government in England

A further review was initiated in 2007 and was enacted in 2009. The review established Cornwall and Northumberland as counties of a single district; established unitary authorities in County Durham, Shropshire and Wiltshire covering the part of the county that was not already split off in the 1990s review; and divided the remainder of Bedfordshire and Cheshire into two unitary authorities. The review caused nine unitary authorities to be created.

Functions

Unitary authorities combine the powers and functions that are normally delivered separately by the councils of non-metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan districts. These functions are housing, waste management, waste collection, council tax collection, education, libraries, social services, transport, planning, consumer protection, licensing, cemeteries and crematoria. The breakdown of these services is as follows:^[4]

Service	Non-metropolitan county	Non-metropolitan district	Unitary authority
Education	Y		Y
Housing		Y	Y
Planning applications		Y	Y
Strategic planning	Y		Y
Transport planning	Y		Y
Passenger transport	Y		Y
Highways	Y		Y
Fire	Y		Y
Social services	Y		Y
Libraries	Y		Y
Leisure and recreation		Y	Y
Waste collection		Y	Y
Waste disposal	Y		Y
Environmental health		Y	Y
Revenue collection		Y	Y

Electoral arrangements

Most unitary authorities are divided into a number of multiple member wards from which councillors are elected in the same way as in two-tier district council elections. The exceptions, which are divided into electoral divisions as in county council elections, are Cornwall, County Durham, the Isle of Wight, Northumberland, Shropshire and Wiltshire.^[5]

Current list

Unitary authority areas can additionally have the status of borough or city, although this has no effect on their powers or functions.

District	Local authority	Created	Formed by
Bath and North East Somerset	Bath and North East Somerset Council	1996	District gained county functions
Bedford	Bedford Borough Council	2009	District gained county functions
Blackburn with Darwen	Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council	1998	District gained county functions
Blackpool	Blackpool Council	1998	District gained county functions
Bournemouth	Bournemouth Borough Council	1997	District gained county functions
Bracknell Forest	Bracknell Forest Borough Council	1998	District gained Berkshire county functions
Brighton and Hove	Brighton and Hove City Council	1997	District gained county functions
Bristol^cerem	Bristol City Council	1996	District gained county functions
Central Bedfordshire	Central Bedfordshire Council	2009	Districts merged and gained county functions
Cheshire East	Cheshire East Council	2009	District gained county functions
Cheshire West and Chester	Cheshire West and Chester Council	2009	District gained county functions
Cornwall^cerem	Cornwall Council	2009	County gained district functions
County Durham^cerem	Durham County Council	2009	County gained district functions
Darlington	Darlington Borough Council	1997	District gained county functions
Derby	Derby City Council	1997	District gained county functions
East Riding of Yorkshire^cerem	East Riding of Yorkshire Council	1996	District gained county functions
Halton	Halton Borough Council	1998	District gained county functions
Hartlepool	Hartlepool Borough Council	1996	District gained county functions
Herefordshire^cerem	Herefordshire Council	1998	District gained county functions
Isle of Wight^cerem^[6]	Isle of Wight Council	1995	County gained district functions
Kingston upon Hull	Hull City Council	1996	District gained county functions
Leicester	Leicester City Council	1997	District gained county functions
Luton	Luton Borough Council	1997	District gained county functions
Medway	Medway Council	1998	District gained county functions
Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough Borough Council	1996	District gained county functions
Milton Keynes	Milton Keynes Council	1997	District gained county functions
North East Lincolnshire	North East Lincolnshire Council	1996	District gained county functions
North Lincolnshire	North Lincolnshire Council	1996	District gained county functions
North Somerset	North Somerset Council	1996	District gained county functions
Northumberland^cerem	Northumberland County Council	2009	County gained district functions
Nottingham	Nottingham City Council	1998	District gained county functions
Peterborough	Peterborough City Council	1998	District gained county functions
Plymouth	Plymouth City Council	1998	District gained county functions
Poole	Poole Borough Council	1997	District gained county functions
Portsmouth	Portsmouth City Council	1997	District gained county functions
Reading	Reading Borough Council	1998	District gained Berkshire county functions
Redcar and Cleveland	Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council	1996	District gained county functions
Rutland^cerem	Rutland County Council	1997	District gained county functions
Shropshire^cerem	Shropshire Council	2009	County gained district functions
Slough	Slough Borough Council	1998	District gained Berkshire county functions
Southampton	Southampton City Council	1997	District gained county functions
Southend-on-Sea	Southend-on-Sea Borough Council	1998	District gained county functions
South Gloucestershire	South Gloucestershire Council	1996	District gained county functions
Stockton-on-Tees	Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council	1996	District gained county functions
Stoke-on-Trent	Stoke-on-Trent City Council	1998	District gained county functions
Swindon	Swindon Borough Council	1998	District gained county functions
Telford and Wrekin	Telford and Wrekin Borough Council	1998	District gained county functions
Thurrock	Thurrock Council	1998	District gained county functions
Torbay	Torbay Council	1998	District gained county functions
Warrington	Warrington Borough Council	1998	District gained county functions
West Berkshire	West Berkshire Council	1998	District gained Berkshire county functions
Wiltshire^cerem	Wiltshire Council	2009	County gained district functions
Windsor and Maidenhead	Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council	1998	District gained Berkshire county functions
Wokingham	Wokingham Borough Council	1998	District gained county functions
York	City of York Council	1996	District gained county functions

Similar authorities

The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a sui generis unitary authority, created in 1890 and since 1930 has held the "powers, duties and liabilities" of a county council.^[7] The 36 metropolitan borough councils are also the sole elected local government units in their areas (except for parish councils in a few locations), but share strategic functions with joint boards and arrangements. On the other hand, the City of London Corporation and the 32 London borough councils, although they have a high degree of autonomy, share strategic functions with the directly elected Mayor of London and London Assembly.

Footnotes

^cerem : also a ceremonial county, in some cases covering other unitary authorities

References

↑ Redcliffe-Maud Report I. vi 73, cited in Oxford English Dictionary Online, draft addendum February 2003, s.v. unitary. An earlier citation, in 1936, uses the term for the London County Council in the sense of an elected council for the whole of London.
1 2 3 Atkinson, H. & Wilks-Heeg, S. (2000). Local Government from Thatcher to Blair. Polity.
↑ Jones, Kavanagh, Moran & Norton (2004). Politics UK (5th ed.). Pearson.
↑ Frequently Asked Questions on the structural reviews of Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk, Boundary Commission for England
↑ http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/openspace/technicalfaq.html
↑ The Isle of Wight (Structural Change) Order 1994
↑ Isles of Scilly Order 1930

Unitary authorities of England

Districts	Bath and North East Somerset Bedford Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Bournemouth Bracknell Forest Brighton and Hove Bristol Central Bedfordshire Cheshire East Cheshire West and Chester Cornwall County Durham Darlington Derby East Riding of Yorkshire Halton Hartlepool Herefordshire Isles of Scilly Isle of Wight Kingston upon Hull Leicester Luton Medway Middlesbrough Milton Keynes North East Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire North Somerset Northumberland Nottingham Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Reading Redcar and Cleveland Rutland Shropshire Slough Southampton Southend-on-Sea South Gloucestershire Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Swindon Telford and Wrekin Thurrock Torbay Warrington West Berkshire Wiltshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham York

Councils	Bath and North East Somerset Bedford Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Bournemouth Bracknell Forest Brighton and Hove Bristol Central Bedfordshire Cheshire East Cheshire West and Chester Cornwall Derby Durham Darlington East Riding of Yorkshire Halton Hartlepool Herefordshire Isles of Scilly Isle of Wight Kingston upon Hull Leicester Luton Medway Middlesbrough Milton Keynes North East Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire North Somerset Northumberland Nottingham Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Reading Redcar and Cleveland Rutland Shropshire Slough Southampton Southend-on-Sea South Gloucestershire Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Swindon Telford and Wrekin Thurrock Torbay Warrington West Berkshire Wiltshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham York

Local elections	Bath and North East Somerset Bedford Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Bournemouth Bracknell Forest Brighton and Hove Bristol Central Bedfordshire Cheshire East Cheshire West and Chester Cornwall County Durham Darlington Derby East Riding of Yorkshire Halton Hartlepool Herefordshire Isle of Wight Kingston upon Hull Leicester Luton Medway Middlesbrough Milton Keynes North East Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire North Somerset Northumberland Nottingham Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Reading Redcar and Cleveland Rutland Shropshire Slough Southampton Southend-on-Sea South Gloucestershire Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Swindon Telford and Wrekin Thurrock Torbay Warrington West Berkshire Wiltshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham York

Administrative geography of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom local government	History Subdivisions: Shrievalties Lieutenancy areas Counties (list)

England local government	History Subdivisions: Regions Ceremonial counties Combined authorities Metropolitan and Non-metropolitan counties Unitary authorities (list) Districts (list) Civil parishes (list)

Northern Ireland local government	History Subdivisions: Counties Districts

Scotland local government	History Subdivisions: Sheriffdoms Lieutenancy areas Council areas Community council areas

Wales local government	History Subdivisions: Preserved counties Principal areas Communities (list) Historic counties

Subdivisions of England

Region	Regions NUTS 1 statistical regions of England

County	Metropolitan Non-metropolitan Ceremonial

District	Metropolitan Non-metropolitan London borough City of London Unitary authority Isles of Scilly

Civil parish	Civil parish

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