The subdivisions of England constitute a hierarchy of administrative divisions
and non-administrative ceremonial areas. Overall, England is divided into nine
regions and 48 ceremonial counties, although these have only a limited role
in public policy. For the purposes of local government, the country is divided
into counties, districts and parishes. In some areas, counties and districts
form a two-tier administrative structure, while in others they are
combined under a unitary authority. Parishes cover only part of England.
The current system is the result of incremental reform which has its origins
in legislation enacted in 1965 and 1972. Regions
At the highest level, all of England is divided into nine regions that are each
made up of a number of counties and districts. The 'government office
regions' were created in 1994 and since the 1999 Euro-elections have been used
as England's European Parliament constituencies. The regions vary greatly
in their areas covered, populations and contributions to the national economy.
All have the same status, except London which has substantive devolved powers.
There was a failed attempt to create elected regional assemblies outside
London in 2004 and since then the structures of regional governance have
been subject to review. Following the change of government in 2010, these have
been scheduled for abolition by 2012. Counties and districts
For non-administrative purposes, England is wholly divided into 48 counties,
commonly known, but not named in statute, as ceremonial counties. These
counties are used for the purposes of appointing Lords Lieutenant who are
historically the Crown's representatives in those areas. Ceremonial counties are
often different from the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties used for
local government as they include the areas covered by unitary authorities.
They are taken into consideration when drawing up Parliamentary constituency
boundaries. For local government, England is divided
into areas with a two-tier structure of counties and districts governed by two
local authorities, and unitary authority areas where there is one local
authority. The arrangement varies in different parts of the country and there
are four main configurations: non-metropolitan two-tier 'shire' areas,
six metropolitan counties, unitary authorities, and Greater London.
= Two-tier non-metropolitan counties = Most of the geographical area of England
is within a two-tier non-metropolitan arrangement. In 27 of these areas the
county councils provide the majority of services, including education and social
services, and the 201 district councils have a more limited role.
Non-metropolitan districts can additionally have the status of borough
or city, although this has no effect on their powers or functions. All two-tier
non-metropolitan counties are also ceremonial counties.C3 Berkshire is an
anomaly in this arrangement whereby its districts are unitary authorities, but
the non-metropolitan county was not formally abolished and it is also a
ceremonial county. Bedfordshire and Cheshire are two former non-metropolitan
counties that continue to exist only as ceremonial counties.
= Metropolitan counties = Six large conurbations of England
correspond to metropolitan counties. Each metropolitan county had a county
council providing limited strategic services, such as public transport and
planning, from 1974 to 1986. Despite no longer having county councils the
metropolitan counties still legally exist, and are each a ceremonial county.
County-level functions, such as public transport, are exercised by joint-boards
and other arrangements organised by the district councils. In the metropolitan
counties, the 36 district councils operate effectively as unitary
authorities and provide the majority of services, including education and social
services. All metropolitan districts additionally have the status of borough,
and some are cities, although this has no effect on their powers or functions.
From April 2011 there has been a formal upper-tier structure in Greater
Manchester with the creation of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
= London = The Greater London administrative area
created in 1965 corresponds to the London region. Through incremental
change, culminating in 2000, the upper-tier authority is the Greater
London Authority, comprising an elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
Greater London is divided into 32 London boroughs, also dating from 1965, each
governed by a London borough council. The ancient City of London forms a 33rd
division and is governed by the City of London Corporation, a sui generis
authority unlike any other in England that has largely avoided any of the
reforms of local government in the 19th and 20th centuries. The City of London,
and the rest of Greater London, each form a ceremonial county. The London
borough councils and the City of London Corporation provide the majority of
services, for example they are education authorities and co-ordinate waste
management, whereas the Greater London Authority is responsible for the key
strategic services of public transport, the police, economic development and
emergency planning. = Unitary authorities =
Outside London and the metropolitan counties, some parts of England are
governed by a single council, commonly called as a unitary authority. Unitary
authorities are a combined non-metropolitan county and
non-metropolitan district, undertaking the functions of both. Unitary
authorities can additionally have the status of borough or city, although this
has no effect on their powers or functions.
46 unitary authorities were created between 1995 and 1998 and nine more were
created in 2009. They were formed either by non-metropolitan districts taking on
county-level functions, or by counties taking on district-level functions. In
some cases, borders were altered or districts were combined during this
reorganisation. Berkshire is an anomaly in this arrangement whereby its
districts became unitary authorities, but the non-metropolitan county was not
formally abolished. For ceremonial purposes, unitary
authorities are considered to be part of the county to which they formerly
belonged. Politically, however, they are fully independent entities, unaffiliated
with the council of their former county. For instance, the unitary authority of
Plymouth is traditionally considered part of County Devon, though politically
it is not part of the county. In the case of Berkshire, there is no county
council, as all of its former territory is now covered by six unitary
authorities, unaffiliated with each other politically. Although there is no
county council in Berkshire, these six unitary authorities comprise the
ceremonial county of Berkshire. = Isles of Scilly =
The Isles of Scilly are a governed by a sui generis local authority called the
Council of the Isles of Scilly. The authority was established in 1890 as the
Isles of Scilly Rural District Council. It was renamed but otherwise unreformed
by the changes in local government that occurred in 1974 in the rest of England
outside Greater London. Although effectively a unitary authority, for
example it is an education authority, the Isles of Scilly are part of the
Cornwall ceremonial county and combine with Cornwall Council for services such
as health and economic development. Civil parishes
The civil parish is the most local unit of government in England. A parish is
governed by a parish council or parish meeting, which exercises a limited
number of functions that would otherwise be delivered by the local authority.
There is one civil parish in Greater London, and not all of the rest of
England is parished. The number of parishes and total area parished is
growing. Lists of subdivisions
= Regions = = Two-tier non-metropolitan counties =
= Metropolitan counties = = London =
= Unitary authorities = = Sui generis =
Isles of Scilly = Civil parishes =
List of civil parishes in England = Hierarchical list of regions, counties
and districts = See also
Combined authority List of English counties leaders
Notes References
External links Map of the UK counties and unitary
administrations Map of all UK local authorities