Non-metropolitan county

Non-metropolitan county
Also known as	Shire county
Category	Counties
Location	England
Found in	Regions
Created by	Local Government Act 1972
Created	1 April 1974
Number	77 (as of 1 April 2009)
Possible types	multiple district (28)
	single district (49)
Possible status	with county council (27)
	with no council (1)
	with district council (49)
Populations	300,000–1.4 million
Subdivisions	Non-metropolitan district

A non-metropolitan county, or shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.4 million.^[1] The term shire county is, however, an unofficial usage. Many of the non-metropolitan counties bear historic names and most end in the suffix "-shire" such as Wiltshire or Staffordshire. Of the remainder, some counties had the -shire ending and have lost it over time; such as Devon and Somerset. "Shire county" is, strictly, a dual-language tautology since the French-derived "county" means the same as the older Anglo-Saxon word "shire".

Origins

Previous to 1974 local government had been divided between single-tier county boroughs (the largest towns and cities) and two-tier administrative counties which were subdivided into municipal boroughs and urban and rural districts. The Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, divided England outside Greater London and the six largest conurbations into thirty-nine non-metropolitan counties. Each county was divided into between two and fourteen non-metropolitan districts. There was a uniform two-tier system of local government with county councils dealing with "wide-area" services such as education, fire services and the police, and district councils exercising more local powers over areas such as planning, housing and refuse collection.

Service	Non-metropolitan county	Non-metropolitan district	Unitary authority
Education	Y		Y
Housing		Y	Y
Planning applications		Y	Y
Strategic planning	Y		Y
Transport planning	Y		Y
Passenger transport	Y		Y
Highways	Y		Y
Fire	Y		Y
Social services	Y		Y
Libraries	Y		Y
Leisure and recreation		Y	Y
Waste collection		Y	Y
Waste disposal	Y		Y
Environmental health		Y	Y
Revenue collection		Y	Y

As originally constituted, the non-metropolitan counties were largely based on existing counties, although they did include a number of innovations. Some counties were based on areas surrounding large county boroughs or were formed by the mergers of smaller counties. Examples of the first category are Avon (based on Bath and Bristol) and Cleveland (based on Teesside). Examples of the second category are Hereford and Worcester and Cumbria. The counties were adopted for all statutory purposes: a lord-lieutenant and high sheriff was appointed to each county, and they were also used for judicial administration, and definition of police force areas. The Royal Mail adopted the counties for postal purposes in most areas.

Changes

1995–1998

A Local Government Commission was appointed in 1992 to review the administrative structure of the non-metropolitan counties. It was anticipated that a system of unitary authorities would entirely replace the two-tier system. The Commission faced competing claims from former county boroughs wishing to regain unitary status and advocates for the restoration of such small counties as Herefordshire and Rutland.^[2] The review led to the introduction of unitary local government in some areas but not in others. In the majority of unitary authorities an existing district council took over powers from the county council. The 1972 Act required that all areas outside Greater London form part of a non-metropolitan county, and that all such counties should contain at least one district.^[3] Accordingly the statutory instruments that effected the reorganisation separated the unitary districts from the county in which they were situated and constituted them as counties. The orders also provided that the provisions of the 1972 Act that every county should have a county council should not apply in the new counties, with the district council exercising the powers of the county council.

An exception was made in the case of Berkshire, which was retained with its existing boundaries in spite of the abolition of its county council and the creation of six unitary authorities. This was done in order to preserve its status as a royal county.^[4]

With the creation of numerous new non-metropolitan counties, the areas used for lieutenancy and shrievalty began to diverge from local government areas. This led to the development of ceremonial counties for these purposes, a fact recognised by the Lieutenancies Act 1997.

2009

A further wave of unitary authorities were created in 2009 under the terms of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. While a number of new county counties were created, several of the new authorities (such as Cornwall or Northumberland) continued to have the boundaries set in 1974.

List of non-metropolitan counties

The following list shows the original thirty-nine counties formed in 1974, subsequent changes in the 1990s, and further changes in 2009.

Non-metropolitan county 1974[5]	Changes 1995–1998	Changes 2009
Avon (6 districts)	1996: North West Somerset[6] (unitary) 2005: renamed North Somerset†	None
	1996: Bath and North East Somerset[6] (unitary)	None
	1996: South Gloucestershire[6] (unitary)	None
	1996: City of Bristol[6] (unitary)	None
Bedfordshire (4 districts)	1997: Bedfordshire[7] (3 districts)	Bedford[8] (unitary)
		Central Bedfordshire[8] (unitary)
	1997: Luton[7] (unitary)	None
Berkshire (Royal County)[9] (6 districts)	1998: The county council was abolished, with each of the six district councils in the county becoming unitary authorities. The Royal County of Berkshire was not abolished.[10]	None
Buckinghamshire (5 districts)	1997: Buckinghamshire[11] (4 districts)	None
	1997: Milton Keynes[11] (unitary)	None
Cambridgeshire (6 districts)	1998: Cambridgeshire[12] (5 districts)	None
	1998: Peterborough[12] (unitary)	None
Cheshire (8 districts)	1998: Cheshire[13] (6 districts)	2009: Cheshire East[14] (unitary)
		2009: Cheshire West and Chester[14] (unitary)
	1998: Halton[13] (unitary)	None
	1998: Warrington[13] (unitary)	None
Cleveland (4 districts)	1996: Hartlepool[15] (unitary)	None
	1996: Middlesbrough[15] (unitary)	None
	1996: Redcar and Cleveland[15] (unitary)	None
	1996: Stockton-on-Tees[15] (unitary)	None
Cornwall (6 districts)	None	2009: Became unitary[16]
Cumbria (6 districts)	None	None
Derbyshire (9 districts)	1997: Derby[17] (unitary)	None
	1997: Derbyshire[17] (8 districts)	None
Devon (10 districts)	1998: Devon[18] (8 districts)	None
	1998: Torbay[18] (unitary)	None
	1998: Plymouth[18] (unitary)	None
Dorset (8 districts)	1997: Dorset[19] (6 districts)	None
	1997: Bournemouth[19] (unitary)	None
	1997: Poole[19] (unitary)	None
Durham (8 districts)	1997: Darlington[20] (unitary)	None
	1997: Durham[20] (7 districts)	2009: County Durham[21] (unitary)
East Sussex (7 districts)	1997: East Sussex[22] (5 districts)	None
	1997: Brighton and Hove[22] (unitary)	None
Essex (14 districts)	1998: Essex[23] (12 districts)	None
	1998: Southend-on-Sea[23] (unitary)	None
	1998: Thurrock[23] (unitary)	None
Gloucestershire (6 districts)	None	None
Hampshire (13 districts)	1997: Hampshire[24] (11 districts)	None
	1997: Portsmouth[24] (unitary)	None
	1997: Southampton[24] (unitary)	None
Hereford and Worcester (9 districts)	1998: Herefordshire[25] (unitary)	None
	1998: Worcestershire[25] (6 districts)	None
Hertfordshire (10 districts)	None	None
Humberside (9 districts)	1996: East Riding of Yorkshire[26] (unitary)	None
	1996: City of Kingston upon Hull[26] (unitary)	None
	1996: North Lincolnshire[26] (unitary)	None
	1996: North East Lincolnshire[26] (unitary)	None
Isle of Wight (2 districts)	1995: Became unitary[27]	None
Kent (14 districts)	1998: Kent[28] (12 districts)	None
	1998: The Medway Towns[28] (unitary) 1998: renamed Medway	None
Lancashire (14 districts)	1998: Lancashire[29] (12 districts)	None
	1998: Blackburn with Darwen[29] (unitary)	None
	1998: Blackpool[29] (unitary)	None
Leicestershire (9 districts)	1997: Leicestershire[30] (7 districts)	None
	1997: Leicester[30] (unitary)	None
	1997: Rutland[30] (unitary)	None
Lincolnshire (7 districts)	None	None
Norfolk (7 districts)	None	None
North Yorkshire (8 districts)	1996: North Yorkshire[31] (7 districts)	None
	1996: York[31] (unitary)	None
Northamptonshire (7 districts)	None	None
Northumberland (6 districts)	None	Became unitary[32]
Nottinghamshire (8 districts)	1998: Nottinghamshire[33] (7 districts)	None
	1998: Nottingham[33] (unitary)	None
Oxfordshire (5 districts)	None	None
Salop (6 districts) 1980: renamed Shropshire	1998: Shropshire (5 districts)[34]	Became unitary[35]
	1998: The Wrekin[34] (unitary) 1998: Renamed Telford and Wrekin	None
Somerset (5 districts)	None	None
Staffordshire (9 districts)	1997: Staffordshire[36] (8 districts)	None
	1997: Stoke-on-Trent[36] (unitary)	None
Suffolk (7 districts)	None	None
Surrey (11 districts)	None	None
Warwickshire (5 districts)	None	None
West Sussex (7 districts)	None	None
Wiltshire (5 districts)	1997: Wiltshire[37] (4 districts)	Became unitary[38]
	1997: Thamesdown[37] (unitary) 1997: renamed Swindon	None

† The name of the non-metropolitan district and district council was changed to "North Somerset" by resolution of the council July 11, 1995. However this did not change the name of the county which had the same area. The Local Government Changes for England (Miscellaneous Provision) Regulations 1995 gave district councils in a "county for which there is no county council and in which there is not more than one district" the additional power to change the name of the county. This was, however, not done until 2005.^[39]

Wales

In Wales there was not a distinction between metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, with all upper tier areas designated "counties".^[40] The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 amended the 1972 Act, abolishing the Welsh counties and creating instead new Welsh principal areas, some of which are also designated "counties". For the purposes of lieutenancy the counties constituted in 1974 were preserved.

See also

• ISO 3166-2:GB, subdivision codes for the United Kingdom
• Political make-up of local councils in the United Kingdom#County councils

References

1. ^ Jones, B. et al., Politics UK, (2004)
2. ^ Davis, Howard (1997) 'Reviewing the review', Local Government Studies, 23:3, 5 - 17
3. ^ Local Government Act 1972 (c.70), S.1(1)
4. ^ Hansard, Written Answers, March 31, 1995, col.830
5. ^ Local Government Act 1972 (c.70), Schedule I, Part II
6. ^ ^{a b c d} The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
7. ^ ^{a b} The Bedfordshire (Borough of Luton) (Structural Change) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
8. ^ ^{a b} The Bedfordshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
9. ^ Non-metropolitan county of Berkshire was granted royal status by letters patent in 1974
10. ^ The Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
11. ^ ^{a b} The Buckinghamshire (Borough of Milton Keynes) (Structural Changes) Order 1995
12. ^ ^{a b} The Cambridgeshire (City of Peterborough) (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
13. ^ ^{a b c} The Cheshire (Boroughs of Halton and Warrington) (Structural Change) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
14. ^ ^{a b} The Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
15. ^ ^{a b c d} The Cleveland Further (Provision Order) 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
16. ^ The Cornwall (Structural Change) Order 2008 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
17. ^ ^{a b} The Derbyshire (City of Derby) (Structural Change) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
18. ^ ^{a b c} The Devon (City of Plymouth and Borough of Torbay) (Structural Change) Order 1996
19. ^ ^{a b c} The Dorset (Boroughs of Poole and Bournemouth) (Structural Change) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
20. ^ ^{a b} The Durham (Borough of Darlington) (Structural Change) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
21. ^ The County Durham (Structural Change) Order 2008 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
22. ^ ^{a b} The East Sussex (Boroughs of Brighton and Hove) (Structural Change) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
23. ^ ^{a b c} The Essex (Boroughs of Colchester, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock and District of Tendring) (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
24. ^ ^{a b c} The Hampshire (Cities of Portsmouth and Southampton) (Structural Change) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
25. ^ ^{a b} The Hereford and Worcester (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
26. ^ ^{a b c d} The Humberside (Structural Change) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
27. ^ The Isle of Wight (Structural Change) Order 1994 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
28. ^ ^{a b} The Kent (Borough of Gillingham and City of Rochester upon Medway) (Structural Change) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
29. ^ ^{a b c} The Lancashire (Boroughs of Blackburn and Blackpool) (Structural Change) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
30. ^ ^{a b c} The Leicestershire (City of Leicester and District of Rutland) (Structural Change) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
31. ^ ^{a b} The North Yorkshire (District of York) (Structural and Boundary Changes) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
32. ^ The Northumberland (Structural Change) Order 2008 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
33. ^ ^{a b} The Nottinghamshire (City of Nottingham) (Structural Change) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
34. ^ ^{a b} The Shropshire (District of The Wrekin) (Structural Change) Order 1996 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
35. ^ The Shropshire (Structural Change) Order 2008 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
36. ^ ^{a b} The Staffordshire (City of Stoke-on-Trent) (Structural and Boundary Changes) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
37. ^ ^{a b} The Wiltshire (Borough of Thamesdown) (Structural Change) Order 1995 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
38. ^ The Wiltshire (Structural Change) Order 2008 (OPSI website), accessed 2008-05-12
39. ^ Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council, Tuesday 28th June 2005, (North Somerset Council), accessed 2008-05-12
40. ^ Arnold-Baker, C., Local Government Act 1972, (1973)