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. 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 authority areas, 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.
1990s reform A review in the 1990s was initiated to select non-metropolitan areas where new unitary authorities could be created. 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 county administration of Berkshire was dissolved, though the county legally preserved to retain for its territory its
royal designation, and each of its district councils 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. 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.
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 authority areas. 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. One authority,
West Northamptonshire, would consist of the existing districts of
Daventry,
Northampton and
South Northamptonshire and the other authority,
North Northamptonshire would consist of
Corby,
East Northamptonshire,
Kettering and
Wellingborough districts. This was confirmed in May 2019, with the new councils being created in April 2021. In July 2021 the
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan counties of
Cumbria,
North Yorkshire and
Somerset would be reorganised into unitary authority areas. The new authorities,
Cumberland,
Westmorland and Furness,
North Yorkshire Council and
Somerset Council were first elected in May 2022 and formally assumed their powers on 1 April 2023.
English Devolution Bill The
Labour Party returned to power following the
2024 general election, and in her
Autumn budget statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Rachel Reeves outlined that a forthcoming
English Devolution Bill would include plans for "working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas", suggesting that a new round of local government reorganisation could be likely. In February 2025
Jim McMahon, the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, wrote to all two-tier and unitary councils in England stating that all local government will move to a unitary system with new council areas having a target population of at least 500,000. Councils were invited to work together and submit an interim plan by 21 March 2025 and a final proposal for reorganisation by 28 November 2025. Local elections in East Sussex, West Sussex, Essex, Thurrock, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Suffolk and Surrey were delayed in
May 2025, to accommodate local reorganisation. ==Restructuring==