Strukturreformen

In April 2004, the government (Venstre and Conservative People's Party) presented its proposal for a reform of the structure of the public sector : "The new Denmark - a simple public sector close to the citizen". This proposal was based on the Structure Commission's report. The had published the report on 9 January 2004. The report with various recommendations/proposals for the future number of regions/regional administrative levels - or none, since the state could take over the administration of hospitals - and municipalities was presented at a meeting for 900 politicians, civil servants, management researchers and interest organizations as well as 150 journalists on 14 January 2004 in the Vingsted center in the then Egtved Kommune near Vejle. The play subsequently formed the basis for negotiations between the government and the other parties in the Folketing. The negotiations resulted on 24 June 2004 in the Structural Agreement, an agreement on a reform between the government and the Danish People's Party. The structural agreement was three-pronged and included partly criteria for a new (geographical) division of municipalities and regions, partly a new distribution of tasks between municipalities, regions and the state and finally a financing and . Based on the framework agreement, 50 legislative proposals were drawn up during the autumn of 2004. The legislative package was sent for consultation on 1 December 2004. The legislative package was tabled in the Folketing on 24 February 2005 and was considered in the Folketing over the spring of 2005, after which the final votes took place in mid-June. In the final votes, in addition to the governing parties Venstre and the Conservative People's Party as well as the Danish People's Party, well over half of the bills were supported by several of the other parties in the Folketing. The structural reform was finally approved by the parties in the Danish Parliament on 16 June 2005 and entered into force on 26 June 2005 after publication in the Legislative Gazette. A ministerial order, which was signed on 29 June 2005 by Minister of the Interior and Health Lars Løkke Rasmussen, entered into force on 1 July 2005. == Consequence changes ==

The counties are not the only structure based on the municipalities. Other structures are police districts, judicial districts, electoral districts and . As an example Brædstrup Municipality (today Horsens Municipality, Voerladegård however in Skanderborg Municipality), later became of the following five structures: • Vejle County • Horsens Police District (together with Horsens Municipality, Juelsminde Municipality, Hedensted Municipality, Tørring-Uldum Municipality, Nørre-Snede Municipality and Gedved Municipality) • Brædstrup Retskreds (together with Nørre-Snede Municipality and Tørring-Uldum Municipality) • The electoral district (together with Egtved Municipality, Give Municipality and Nørre-Snede Municipality) • Them-Nørre Snede-Bræstrup Provsti (together with Them Municipality and Nørre-Snede Municipality) All of these were therefore changed as a consequence of the Structural Reform. == Municipalities through the period ==

The number of municipalities and population has varied quite a bit over time. In 1965, there were the most, namely 1345. There were 277 municipalities in Denmark from 1 April 1970 to and including 31 March 1974, the day before Sengeløse municipality, which had been established on 1 April 1970, became part of Høje-Taastrup Municipality and Store Magleby Parish and Dragør Parish became Dragør Municipality. From 1 April 1974 up to and including 31 December 2002, there were 275 municipalities in Denmark, then 271 municipalities up to and including 31 December 2005 (Bornholm had become one municipality), and 270 municipalities (Ærø had become one municipality) up to and including 31 December 2006. In addition to these two new municipalities, 30 municipalities remained independent after 1 January 2007. On 1 April 1972, many municipal boundaries were adjusted to a lesser extent, so that areas were taken over by other municipalities. April 1 was the effective date because the state and public sector fiscal years prior to January 1, 1979 began on April 1 (and ended on March 31 ). In 1976, the Danish Parliament passed the law, whereby the financial year became the same as the calendar year (January 1 to December 31), effective from 1 January 1979. == The new municipalities and regions ==

The 98 new municipalities came into existence on 1 January 2007. They henceforth functioned as the "entrance to the public sector". If residents are in doubt as to where a certain public service belongs after the municipal reform, they can contact their municipality. Capital Region The Capital Region of Denmark (Hovedstaden) has its administration in Hillerød, and consists of 29 new municipalities. It includes the old counties of Frederiksborg and Copenhagen, and the municipalities of Bornholm, Frederiksberg and Copenhagen (the latter 3 functioned both as municipalities and county municipalities, but their status as county municipalities lapsed after the reform). Central Jutland region Central Denmark Region (Midtjylland) has its administration in Viborg, and consists of 19 new municipalities. It includes the old Ringkjøbing and Århus counties (the latter except for part of Mariager Municipality), and the northern parts of Vejle County and the southern parts of Viborg County. North Jutland region North Jutland Region (Nordjylland) has its administration in Aalborg, and consists of 11 new municipalities. It includes the old North Jutland County, and northern parts of Viborg County and the parts of Mariager Municipality that did not come under Central Denmark Region. Region Zealand Region Zealand(Sjælland) has its administration in Sorø, and consists of 17 new municipalities. It includes the old counties of Roskilde, Storstrøm and Vestsjælland. Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark(Syddanmark) has its administration in Vejle, and consists of 22 new municipalities. It includes the old counties of Funen, Ribe and South Jutland, and southern parts of Vejle County. == Reform of tax centres ==

Prior to the municipal reform, each municipality's tax system was organized individually or as voluntary agreements between several municipalities. With the municipal reform, this task was brought together in 30 tax centres and three call centres. The centres were located in the following cities: • Ballerup • Billund • Bornholm • Esbjerg • Fredensborg-Humlebæk • Frederikssund • Grenå • Haderslev • Herning • Holbæk • Horsens • Hjørring, where a call centre was established • Høje-Taastrup • Corsair • Copenhagen • Køge • Maribo • Middelfart • Næstved • Odense, where a call centre was established • Randers • Roskilde, where a call centre was established • Skive • Struer • Svendborg • Sollerød • Thisted • Tønder • Aalborg • Aarhus == Results ==

The purpose of the reform was "to create a new Denmark, where a strong and future-proof public sector solves the tasks with high quality and as close to the citizens as possible." Subsequent polls from 2010 showed that approx. 50% of the respondents stated that the municipalities' service had noticeably deteriorated and that the distance to the municipal politicians was significantly greater. In the first ten years after the structural reform, 325 primary schools were closed, or approximately one in five. In 2006, there were 1,601 primary schools and special schools in Denmark, while in 2021 there were 1,203 (of which 1,080 primary schools and 123 special schools). There are often school closures, school mergers, but also the division of schools into several independent schools. In 2021, Holbæk Municipality split up 4 independent primary schools, so that they became 11 independent primary schools. The number of full-time employees in the municipalities fell from 424,000 in 2007 to 401,000 in 2016. On the other hand, the number of Djøfs grew from 3,781 in 2007 to 6,373 in 2014. == See also ==

• Erik Harder: Dansk kommunestyre i grundtræk. 4. udgave. København 1985. Forlaget Kommuneinformation. • Ove Hansen: Sådan styres kommunen. 1. udgave. 1. oplag. 1978. AOF's Forlag og Forlaget Fremad. == External links ==