Unitary authorities of England

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Unitary authority

Category Local authority districts

Location England

Found in Regions

Number 56 (as of 2020)

Possible status Coterminous Non-
metropolitan
county and Non-
metropolitan district (50)
District of Berkshire (6)

Populations 40,000–550,000

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, though further tranches were created in
2009 and 2019–20. 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.

Contents

 1History

o 1.1Background

o 1.21990s reform

o 1.32009 changes

o 1.4Further reform

 2Functions

 3Electoral arrangements

 4Current list

 5Similar authorities

 6Combined authorities

 7See also

 8References

History[edit]
Background[edit]
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[edit]
Main article: Local Government Commission for England (1992)

A review in the 1990s was initiated 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[edit]
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.
Further reform[edit]
See also: 2019/2020 structural changes to local government in England

In 2016, Oxfordshire County Council put forward a 'One Oxfordshire' proposal which
would see Oxford City Council and the four other district councils in Oxfordshire
abolished and replaced with a single unitary county council for Oxfordshire. In 2017,
Oxford City Council voiced their opposition to the proposal. A decision on whether the
proposal will go ahead was to have been announced in March 2017. [citation needed]
In 2017, it was proposed that two unitary authorities be formed to cover the ceremonial
county of Dorset. One of the authorities would consist of the existing unitary authorities
of Bournemouth, Poole and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch, the other
would be composed of the remainder of the county. [4] In November 2017, Secretary of
State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid stated that he was "minded
to approve the proposals" and a final decision to implement the two unitary authority
model was confirmed in February 2018. Statutory instruments for the creation of two
unitary authorities, to be named Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Council and Dorset Council, have been made and shadow authorities for the new
council areas were formed ahead of their creation on 1 April 2019.[5][6]
Buckinghamshire County Council and the non-metropolitan districts of Aylesbury
Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks, and Wycombe in Buckinghamshire were replaced by a
single unitary authority known as Buckinghamshire Council on 1 April 2020. The
existing unitary authority of Milton Keynes was not affected; from 1 April 2020,
therefore, the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire has been composed of two unitary
authorities.[7][8]
In March 2018, an independent report commissioned by the Secretary of State for
Housing, Communities and Local Government, proposed structural changes to local
government in Northamptonshire. These changes would see the existing county council
and district councils abolished and two new unitary authorities created in their place.
[9]
 One authority would consist of the existing districts
of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire and the other authority would
consist of Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough districts.[10]

Functions[edit]
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: [11]