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Subdivisions of England

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For other subdivisions, see Historical and alternative regions of England.

Subdivisions of England
Administrative map of England (2010)
Subdivisions of England (as of 1 April 2023) that have a principal local authority: unitary authorities, and two-tier non-metropolitan counties and their non-metropolitan districts
LocationEngland
Subdivisions

The subdivisions of England constitute a hierarchy of administrative divisions and other non-administrative areas.

For local government, the country is divided into strategic authority areas, 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. Strategic authorities and parishes cover only part of England. The current system for local government is the result of incremental reform based on legislation that was implemented in 1965 and 1974. Exceptionally, the City of London and the Isles of Scilly are sui generis subdivisions that predate these reforms.

England is also divided into nine regions, now used primarily for statistical purposes. It is divided into 48 ceremonial counties, that are appointed a Lord-lieutenant, the representative of the monarch in those area.

  metropolitan county
  two-tier non-metropolitan county
  unitary authority (non-metropolitan county and district)
  non-metropolitan county with multiple unitary authorities (which are not counties)
  Greater London
  sui generis areas (City of London and Isles of Scilly)
   regional boundary 
   ceremonial county boundary 
   non-metropolitan county boundary 

History

[edit]
Further information: History of local government in England

The 1974 reform of local government established a two-tier structure of counties and districts in England outside Greater London. In non-metropolitan counties it was the county council that provided the majority of services, including education and social services while the district-tier councils have a more limited role.[1] Since 1996 the two-tier areas have been replaced with unitary authorities. New local administrative subdivisions in England have generally evolved through path dependence, with new units often created by merging smaller, lower-tier areas.[2]

Counties

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Main articles: Counties of England and Historic counties of England

Counties have been a subdivision of England since they were established in the period between the 7th and 11th centuries.[3] Counties have served an administrative role since then; Parr (2020) describes them as the 'most noticeable example' of path dependence in England's local government geography.[2] Between 1889 and 1974, an area with a county council was termed an administrative county.

County boroughs

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Main article: County borough

County boroughs were wholly independent urban centres that existed between 1888 and 1974. County boroughs were independent of the administrative county.[2]

Districts

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Main article: Districts of England

The districts of England originate in the 1834 Poor Law reforms, which amalgamated multiple parishes to form Poor Law unions. These areas were later used as the basis for census registration districts and sanitary districts.[4] 1984 reforms to sub-county government created urban districts and rural districts as a standard lower-tier layer of local government beneath administrative counties.[2]

The 1970s local government reforms replaced the administrative counties and county boroughs with non-metropolitan counties and metropolitan counties, covering the whole of England outside of London. The lower tier of government below the non-metropolitan counties were non-metropolitan districts.[2]

Since 1992, many local authorities have been made unitary authorities, or new unitary authorities have been established to replace the previous two-tier local authorities in a particular area. This has led to either the local government district or county being, in effect, abolished.[2]

Local government areas

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Strategic authority areas

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Main article: Strategic authority

The primary administrative bodies above the upper-tier or unitary local authority are the Greater London Authority, the combined authorities and the combined county authorities. They are collectively known as strategic authorities. They do not cover all of England. Each strategic authority covers an area made up of the territory of a group of constituent councils. The term "strategic authority" was applied retrospectively. The first strategic authority was the Greater London Authority, established in 2000, and the second was the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, established in 2010, covering Greater Manchester. They have devolved powers from central government that are not available to local councils.[5] Some strategic authority areas have the same borders as metropolitan counties which formerly had county councils, such as Greater Manchester. In others areas a metropolitan county has been combined with other local government areas, such as the Liverpool City Region which consists of Merseyside and the Borough of Halton.[6][a]

Two-tier areas

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Main article: Two-tier local government in England

The Local Government Act 1972 divided English local government into a two system of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties and districts, with local council functions split between the two levels. Over time, the two-tier system has been replaced by a unitary system in most of England; the metropolitan counties ceased to be a unit of government in 1986.

Unitary authority areas

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Main article: Unitary authorities of England

In most of England, council functions are carried out by a single unitary authority, as the two-tier system of local government introduced in 1974 has been abolished over time. They are categorised differently based on the method in which they were created, but all have the powers previously held separately by county councils and district councils. 56 unitary authority areas are legally simultaneously non-metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan districts, reflecting that they perform the functions of both. In Berkshire, the districts became unitary authorities in 1998 but the non-metropolitan county remained in legal existence (without a county council) to keep the title of royal county.[7]

London boroughs and metropolitan boroughs

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Main articles: London boroughs and Metropolitan borough

The Greater London administrative area was created in 1965 with 32 boroughs, and the City of London.[8] In 1986, the Greater London Council and the metropolitan county councils were abolished, leading the London boroughs and metropolitan boroughs to become unitary. Unlike unitary authorities created later, they are not areas for public transport authorities, although they are highways authority areas.[9][10][11]

Sui generis

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The Isles of Scilly are 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.[12] Although effectively a unitary authority, for example it is an education authority,[13] the Isles of Scilly are part of the Cornwall ceremonial county and combine with Cornwall Council for services such as health[14] and economic development.[15]

The ancient City of London is the only part of Greater London not within a London borough; it is governed by the City of London Corporation, a sui generis authority unlike any other in England[8] that has largely avoided any of the reforms of local government in the 19th and 20th centuries.[16]

Civil parishes

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Main article: Civil parishes in England

The civil parish is the most local unit of government in England.[1] 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 (Queen's Park, in the City of Westminster),[17] and not all of the rest of England is parished. The number of parishes and total area parished is growing.

Other divisions

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Regions

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Main article: Regions of England

The largest subnational divisions are the nine regions. All of England is divided into regions that are each made up of a number of local government areas. These "government office regions" were created in 1994. They vary greatly in their areas covered, populations and contributions to the national economy.[18] All have the same status, except London which has substantive devolved powers.[19] They were the regions used for thr European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund. The governance of the regions was regional assemblies until 1 April 2010 when they were replaced by local authority leaders' boards. The regional development agencies were abolished in 2012.[20] These regions were also used for European Parliament constituencies and the Boundary Commission considered them when drawing up United Kingdom Parliament constituencies.[21] These regions continue to be used for regional employers organisations.[22] Prior to the government office regions established in 1994, England was divided into eight economic planning regions. These originated in the civil defence regions established during the Second World War.[23]

Regions since 1994
Ceremonial counties since 1998

Ceremonial counties

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Main article: Ceremonial counties of England

England is wholly divided into 48 ceremonial counties.[24] They are the areas used for appointing lords-lieutenant who are the representatives of the Crown in those areas. Ceremonial county is a modern term. Between 1974 and 1997 no special terminology was required because the areas for lieutenancy were the same as the areas used for local government.[25] They became defined separately due to reform of local government, and are now defined in reference to local government areas. The ceremonial counties have been static since they were defined in 1997.[26] As the local government structure of England has become more complex and fragmented, the ceremonial counties provide a more stable and common frame of reference.[27][b]

Metropolitan counties

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Main article: Metropolitan county

Metropolitan counties were established in 1974, covering large conurbations of cities outside Greater London. Each had a county council, responsible for strategic planning, public transport, fire, civil defence, police and waste management. These services continue to be provided in these counties by joint boards and arrangements.[9][29][11]

Spatial development strategy areas

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Areas for producing spatial development strategies are being introduced in 2026. Unlike strategic authorities, they will cover all of England. The areas for strategies will include those of strategic authorities where they exist.[30] Outside of these areas strategic planning boards covering multiple authorities will be created to make the plan, or the government can direct an existing local authority to produce one.[31]

List of subdivisions

[edit]
Region Ceremonial
county 		Local government areas
Strategic authority areas[c] Principal authority areas
Single-tier district[d] Two-tier counties and districts[e]
East of England
 Essex N/a 1. Thurrock N/a
N/a 2. Southend-on-Sea N/a
N/a N/a 3. Essex
a) Harlow, b) Epping Forest, c) Brentwood, d) Basildon, e) Castle Point, f) Rochford, g) Maldon, h) Chelmsford, i) Uttlesford, j) Braintree, k) Colchester, l) Tendring
Hertfordshire N/a N/a 4. Hertfordshire
a) Three Rivers, b) Watford, c) Hertsmere, d) Welwyn Hatfield, e) Broxbourne, f) East Hertfordshire, g) Stevenage, h) North Hertfordshire, i) St Albans, j) Dacorum
Bedfordshire N/a 5. Luton N/a
N/a 6. Bedford N/a
N/a 7. Central Bedfordshire N/a
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire and Peterborough N/a 8. Cambridgeshire
a) Cambridge, b) South Cambridgeshire, c) Huntingdonshire, d) Fenland, e) East Cambridgeshire
9. Peterborough N/a
Norfolk N/a N/a 10. Norfolk
a) Norwich, b) South Norfolk, c) Great Yarmouth, d) Broadland, e) North Norfolk, f) Breckland, g) King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Suffolk N/a N/a 11. Suffolk
a) Ipswich, b) East Suffolk, c) Babergh, d) Mid Suffolk, e) West Suffolk
London
1. Greater London Greater London

a) City of Westminster, b) Kensington and Chelsea, c) Hammersmith and Fulham, d) Wandsworth, e) Lambeth, f) Southwark, g) Tower Hamlets, h) Hackney, i) Islington, j) Camden, k) Brent, l) Ealing, m) Hounslow, n) Richmond, o) Kingston upon Thames, p) Merton, q) Sutton, r) Croydon, s) Bromley, t) Lewisham, u) Greenwich, v) Bexley, w) Havering, x) Barking and Dagenham, y) Redbridge, z) Newham, aa) Waltham Forest, ab) Haringey, ac) Enfield, ad) Barnet, ae) Harrow, af) Hillingdon

N/a
City of London 2. City of London N/a
North East
 Northumberland North East 1. Northumberland N/a
2. Tyne and Wear[f] a) Newcastle upon Tyne, b) Gateshead, c) North Tyneside, d) South Tyneside, e) Sunderland N/a
Durham 3. County Durham N/a
Tees Valley 4. Darlington N/a
5. Hartlepool N/a
6. Stockton-on-Tees N/a
North Yorkshire
7. Redcar and Cleveland N/a
8. Middlesbrough N/a
Yorkshire and the Humber
 York and North Yorkshire 3. North Yorkshire N/a
4. York N/a
1. South Yorkshire[f] a) Sheffield, b) Rotherham, c) Barnsley, d) Doncaster N/a
2. West Yorkshire[f] a) Wakefield, b) Kirklees, c) Calderdale, d) Bradford, e) Leeds N/a
East Riding of Yorkshire Hull and East Yorkshire 5. East Riding of Yorkshire N/a
6. Kingston upon Hull N/a
Lincolnshire Greater Lincolnshire 7. North Lincolnshire N/a
8. North East Lincolnshire N/a
East Midlands
 N/a 5. Lincolnshire
a) Lincoln, b) North Kesteven, c) South Kesteven, d) South Holland, e) Boston, f) East Lindsey, g) West Lindsey
Derbyshire East Midlands N/a 1. Derbyshire
a) High Peak, b) Derbyshire Dales, c) South Derbyshire, d) Erewash, e) Amber Valley, f)  North East Derbyshire, g) Chesterfield, h) Bolsover
2. Derby N/a
Nottinghamshire N/a 3. Nottinghamshire
a) Rushcliffe, b) Broxtowe, c) Ashfield, d) Gedling, e) Newark and Sherwood, f) Mansfield, g) Bassetlaw
4. Nottingham N/a
Leicestershire N/a N/a 6. Leicestershire
a) Charnwood, b) Melton, c) Harborough, d) Oadby and Wigston, e) Blaby, f) Hinckley and Bosworth, g) North West Leicestershire
N/a 7. Leicester N/a
Rutland N/a 8. Rutland N/a
Northamptonshire N/a 9. West Northamptonshire N/a
N/a 10. North Northamptonshire N/a
North West
Cumbria 1. Cumberland N/a
2. Westmorland and Furness N/a
Lancashire N/a 3. Lancashire
a) West Lancashire, b) Chorley, c) South Ribble, d) Fylde, e) Preston, f) Wyre, g) Lancaster, h) Ribble Valley, i) Pendle, j) Burnley, k) Rossendale, l) Hyndburn
4. Blackpool N/a
5. Blackburn with Darwen N/a
6. Greater Manchester[f] a) Bolton, b) Bury, c) Manchester, d) Oldham, e) Rochdale, f) Salford, g) Stockport, h) Tameside, i) Trafford, j) Wigan N/a
7. Merseyside[f] Liverpool City Region a) Knowsley, b) Liverpool, c) St. Helens, d) Sefton, e) Wirral N/a
Cheshire 8. Halton N/a
Cheshire and Warrington 9. Warrington N/a
10. Cheshire West and Chester N/a
11. Cheshire East N/a
South East
 1. Berkshire[g] N/a a) West Berkshire, b) Reading, c) Wokingham, d) Bracknell Forest, e) Windsor and Maidenhead, f) Slough N/a
Buckinghamshire N/a 2. Buckinghamshire N/a
N/a 3. Milton Keynes N/a
East Sussex Sussex and Brighton N/a 4. East Sussex
a) Hastings, b) Rother, c) Wealden, d) Eastbourne, e) Lewes
5. Brighton and Hove N/a
West Sussex N/a 10. West Sussex
a) Worthing, b) Arun, c) Chichester, d) Horsham, e) Crawley, f) Mid Sussex, g) Adur
Kent N/a N/a 6. Kent
a) Dartford, b) Gravesham, c) Sevenoaks, d) Tonbridge and Malling, e) Tunbridge Wells, f) Maidstone, g) Swale, h) Ashford, i) Folkestone and Hythe, j) Canterbury, k) Dover, l) Thanet
N/a 7. Medway N/a
Oxfordshire N/a N/a 8. Oxfordshire
a) Oxford, b) Cherwell, c) South Oxfordshire, d) Vale of White Horse, e) West Oxfordshire
Surrey N/a N/a 9. Surrey
a) Spelthorne, b) Runnymede, c) Surrey Heath, d) Woking, e) Elmbridge, f) Guildford, g) Waverley, h) Mole Valley, i) Epsom and Ewell, j) Reigate and Banstead, k) Tandridge
Hampshire Hampshire and the Solent N/a 11. Hampshire
a) Fareham, b) Gosport, c) Winchester, d) Havant, e) East Hampshire, f) Hart, g) Rushmoor, h) Basingstoke and Deane, i) Test Valley, j) Eastleigh, k) New Forest
12. Southampton N/a
13. Portsmouth N/a
Isle of Wight 14. Isle of Wight N/a
South West
 Dorset N/a 1. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole N/a
N/a 2. Dorset N/a
Somerset N/a 3. North Somerset N/a
N/a 4. Somerset N/a
West of England 5. Bath and North East Somerset N/a
Bristol 6. Bristol N/a
Gloucestershire 7. South Gloucestershire N/a
N/a N/a 8. Gloucestershire
a) Gloucester, b) Tewkesbury, c) Cheltenham, d) Cotswold, e) Stroud, f) Forest of Dean
Wiltshire N/a 9. Swindon N/a
N/a 10. Wiltshire N/a
Devon Devon and Torbay N/a 11. Devon
a) Exeter, b) East Devon, c) Mid Devon, d) North Devon, e) Torridge, f) West Devon, g) South Hams, h) Teignbridge
12. Torbay N/a
N/a 13. Plymouth N/a
Cornwall N/a 14. Isles of Scilly N/a
N/a 15. Cornwall N/a
West Midlands
 Herefordshire N/a 1. Herefordshire N/a
Shropshire N/a 2. Shropshire N/a
N/a 3. Telford and Wrekin N/a
Staffordshire N/a N/a 4. Staffordshire
a) Cannock Chase, b) East Staffordshire, c) Lichfield, d) Newcastle-under-Lyme, e) South Staffordshire, f) Stafford, g) Staffordshire Moorlands, h) Tamworth
N/a 5. Stoke-on-Trent N/a
Warwickshire N/a N/a 6. Warwickshire
a) North Warwickshire, b) Nuneaton and Bedworth, c) Rugby, d) Stratford-on-Avon, e) Warwick
7. West Midlands[f] a) Birmingham, b) Coventry, c) Dudley, d) Sandwell, e) Solihull, f) Walsall, g) Wolverhampton N/a
Worcestershire N/a N/a 8. Worcestershire
a) Bromsgrove, b) Malvern Hills, c) Redditch, d) Worcester, e) Wychavon, f) Wyre Forest

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In metropolitan counties the borough councils are required to form integrated transport authorities under the Local Government Act 1985 (as amended). Where unitary authorities are added to the combined authority area, they continue to be transport authorities.
  2. ^ For example this government list of primary destination organised by ceremonial counties.[28]
  3. ^ All except the Greater London Authority are combined authorities and combined county authorities
  4. ^ Districts may also hold borough and/or city status
  5. ^ Districts may also hold borough and/or city status
  6. ^ a b c d e f Also a metropolitan county (no county council)
  7. ^ Also a royal county and non-metropolitan county (no county council)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Jones, B.; Kavanagh, D.; Moran, M.; Norton, P. (2004). Politics UK. Pearson Longman.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Parr, John (17 December 2020). "Local government in England: evolution and long-term trends". Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance: ID 7382–ID 7382. doi:10.5130/cjlg.vi23.7382. ISSN 1836-0394.
  3. ^ Aspects of Britain: Local Government. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1996.
  4. ^ Winstanley, Michael (n.d.). "The Poor Law in Cumbria" (PDF). Cumbria County History Trust. Cumbria County History Trust. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  5. ^ "John Denham – Greater Manchester to be country's first ever Combined Authority". The National Archives. The Department of Communities and Local Government. 31 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2015. Historic plans for the country's first ever Combined Authority covering the whole of Greater Manchester to drive locally the region's economic growth were launched by Communities Secretary John Denham today.
  6. ^ "Merseyside Councils and Halton 'agree' devolution deal". BBC News. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  7. ^ "The Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996". National Archives(legislation.gov.uk). 1996. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  8. ^ a b Travers, T., The Politics of London, (2004), Palgrave
  9. ^ a b "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  10. ^ Travers, Tony (2015). London Boroughs at 50. London: Biteback Publishing. ISBN 1785900110.
  11. ^ a b Benson, Michael; Reardon, Louise (18 August 2025). "Who is responsible for local transport in England?" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  12. ^ "Local Government Act 1972". Office of Public Sector Information. 1972. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Education and Learning". Council of the Isles of Scilly. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  14. ^ "About Us". Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  15. ^ "The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Enterprise Partnership". Cornwall Council. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  16. ^ Hebbert, Michael (1998). London: More by fortune than design. John Wiley & Sons.
  17. ^ "Queen's Park parish council gets go-ahead". BBC News London. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  18. ^ Atkinson, H. & Wilks-Heeg, S. (2000). Local Government from Thatcher to Blair. Polity.
  19. ^ Collins, S., Colville, I & Pengelly, S., A Guide to the Greater London Authority, (2000), Sweet and Maxwell
  20. ^ Sandford, Mark (27 March 2013). "The abolition of regional government" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  21. ^ Balinski, Michel; Johnston, Ron; McLean, Iain; Young, Peyton (September 2010). "Drawing a New Constituency Map for the United Kingdom" (PDF). British Academy. p. 42. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  22. ^ "Regional employers' organisations". Local Government Association. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  23. ^ Powell, A. G. (1978). "Strategies for the English Regions: Ten Years of Evolution". The Town Planning Review. 49 (1): 5–13. ISSN 0041-0020.
  24. ^ "Guide to Ceremonial County Boundaries". OS Docs. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  25. ^ Local Government Act 1972, Part X, S216, For the purposes of commissions of the peace and the law relating to justices of the peace, magistrates' courts, the custos rotulorum, lieutenants, sheriffs and matters connected with any of those matters, new counties shall, without prejudice to section 179(1) above, be substituted for counties of any other description
  26. ^ "Lieutenancies Act 1997". Office of Public Sector Information. 1997. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  27. ^ "Toponymic guidelines for map and other editors, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". GOV.UK. 11 December 2025. Retrieved 18 June 2026. the ceremonial counties are a useful reference: these are the areas to which a Lord Lieutenant is appointed, and, given the complexity of the administrative structure, it is these geographical areas that are commonly used for simple reference.
  28. ^ "Guidance on road classification and the primary route network". GOV.UK. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2026. Annex A – Primary Destinations Arranged by ceremonial county
  29. ^ "Local Government Act 1985 (as amended)". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  30. ^ Clarke, Edward; Bowers, Dominic; Spry, Matthew (16 February 2026). "Spatial Development Strategy Geographies – Will the map change the landscape?". Lichfields. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  31. ^ "Government consults on geographies for spatial development strategies but districts express concern at potential exclusion from new breed of Strategic Planning Boards". Local Government Lawyer. 13 February 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
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