Districts of England
The
districts of England are a level of
subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there are currently four types of district level subdivision.
Some districts are styled as
boroughs,
cities, or
royal boroughs. These are purely honorific titles, and do not alter the status of the district.
All Boroughs and Cities, and a very few Districts, are led by a
Mayor who in most cases is a ceremonial figure elected by the
Council, but - after the most recent local government reform - is occasionally a directly
Elected Mayor who takes most of the policy decisions instead of the Council.
The setting down of the current structure of districts in England began in
1965, when Greater London and its 32
London boroughs were created. They are the oldest type of district still in use.
In
1974, metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties (also known as '
shire counties') were created across the rest of England and were spilt into
Metropolitan districts, and
Non-metropolitan districts.
The status of the London boroughs and metropolitan districts changed in
1986, when they absorbed the functions and some of the powers of the metropolitan county councils and the
Greater London Council which were abolished. In London power is now shared again, albeit on a different basis, with the
Greater London Authority.
During the
1990s a further kind of district was created, the
unitary authority, which combined the functions and status of county and district.
There are 36
metropolitan districts, 32
London boroughs, 284 non-metropolitan districts (if the Isle of Wight is counted as a district), the
Isles of Scilly, and the
City of London, making a total of 354 district-level authorities.
Metropolitan districts
Metropolitan districts (or
metropolitan boroughs) are a subdivision of a
metropolitan county. These are similar to unitary authorities, as the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986. Most of the powers of the county councils were devolved to the districts but some services are run jointly by joint boards and organisations. The districts typically have populations of 174,000 to 1.1 million.
Non-metropolitan district (shire district)
Non-metropolitan districts (also known as
shire districts) are second-tier authorities, which share power with
county councils. They are subdivisions of
shire counties and the most common type of district. The districts typically have populations of 25,000 to 200,000.
Where this two-tier system exists, the county councils are responsible for running some local services, such as
education,
social services, and roads. District councils run other services, such as waste collection, local planning, and
council housing.
The number of non-metropolitan districts has varied over time. Initially there were 296; after mergers in the
1990s their numbers were reduced to 284.
Unitary authorities
These are single-tier districts which have no second level of government, and are responsible for running all local services in their areas, combining both county and district functions. Unitary authorities often cover large towns and cities as this is deemed to be more efficient than a two-tier structure. In addition, in small English counties such as
Rutland and
Herefordshire, the county council is a unitary authority, and has no districts.
London boroughs
The London boroughs are sub-divisions of
Greater London. They were established in
1965. Between 1965 and
1986 a two-tier structure of government existed in Greater London and the boroughs shared power with the
Greater London Council (GLC). When the GLC was abolished in 1986 they gained similar status to the unitary authorities. In
2000 the
Greater London Authority was established and a two-tier structure was restored, albeit with a change to the balance of powers and responsibilities.
*
Cambridge is the only district to be entirely surrounded by another (
South Cambridgeshire). There used to be three others -
Bath was entirely surrounded by
Wansdyke,
Scunthorpe by
Glanford and
Hereford by
South Herefordshire.
*Only one district,
Stockton-on-Tees is split for
ceremonial purposes*Several non-unitary districts are comparable in size to counties. For example,
Tynedale is larger than
Nottinghamshire.
*
List of English districts*
List of articles about local government in the United Kingdom*
The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972
