Districts of England

The two types of district in England are 132 unitary authorities (in which a single council provides all local government services) and 164 two-tier districts (in which a district council shares responsibility for providing local government services with a county council). Some English districts have been granted the status of city, royal borough, or borough; these are purely honorific titles and do not alter the powers of their councils.

All city, royal borough, and borough councils are chaired by a mayor who in most cases is a ceremonial figure elected from amongst the district councillors. As of June 2026, 13 districts also have a directly elected local authority mayor who acts as the leader of the council and makes most policy decisions, supported by a cabinet that they choose from amongst the district councillors.

History

Before the establishment of districts in the 1890s, the basic unit of local government in England was the parish, overseen by the parish church vestry committee. Vestries dealt with the administration of both parochial and secular governmental matters. Parishes were the successors of the manorial system and historically had been grouped into hundreds, which had exercised some supervising administrative function. However, these powers ebbed away as more and more civic and judicial powers were centred on county towns. From 1834 these parishes were grouped into Poor Law Unions, creating areas for administration of the Poor Law. These areas were later used for census registration and as the basis for sanitary provision. In 1894, based on these earlier subdivisions, the Local Government Act 1894 created urban districts and rural districts as sub-divisions of administrative counties, which had been created in 1889. At the same time, parish-level local government administration was transferred to civil parishes. Another reform in 1900 created 28 metropolitan boroughs as sub-divisions of the County of London.

The setting-down of the current structure of districts in England began in 1965, when Greater London and its 32 London boroughs were created. They are the oldest type of district still in use. In 1974, metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties (also known as "shire counties") were created across the rest of England and were split into metropolitan districts and non-metropolitan districts.

The powers and responsibilities of the London boroughs and metropolitan districts changed in 1986, when they absorbed the functions and some of the powers of the metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council, which were abolished. Since 2000, powers are again shared (on a different basis) with the Greater London Authority.

During the 1990s a further kind of district was created, the non-metropolitan unitary authority, which combined the powers, functions, and responsibilities of a county and a district.

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Unitary authorities

There are five classifications of unitary authority in England: London boroughs, metropolitan districts, unitary non-metropolitan districts, the City of London Corporation, and the Council of the Isles of Scilly. All are commonly referred to as simply "unitary authorities".

London boroughs

The 32 London boroughs are sub-divisions of Greater London. They were established in 1965. Between 1965 and 1986 a two-tier structure of local government existed in Greater London and the boroughs, along with the City of London, shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). When the GLC was abolished in 1986 these became unitary authorities. In 2000, the Greater London Authority (GLA) was established which was granted some powers and responsibilities previously exercised by the London local authorities. Unlike the GLC, the GLA was established as a strategic regional authority, rather than a local authority.

Each London borough is responsible for many of the services within their area, such as schools, waste management, planning applications, social services, libraries and others.

Metropolitan districts

Metropolitan boroughs are a subdivision of a metropolitan county. These became unitary authorities, as the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986. Most of the powers of the county councils were devolved to the districts but some services are run by joint boards and organisations. The districts typically have populations of 174,000 to 1.1 million.

Unitary non-metropolitan districts

All but six of the 62 unitary non-metropolitan districts are also simultaneously classified as non-metropolitan counties. They were first created in the mid-1990s, and often cover large towns and cities as this is deemed more efficient than a two-tier structure. In addition, some of the smaller counties such as Rutland, Herefordshire and the Isle of Wight are unitary authorities. The latest ones were introduced in 2023.

The six unitary non-metropolitan districts in Berkshire are not classified as non-metropolitan counties because the Royal county of Berkshire itself retained its classification as a non-metropolitan county, albeit one with no county council or administrative functions.

Two-tier districts

Two-tier districts are English local authorities which share powers, functions, and responsibilities with a two-tier county. Since 1986, all remaining two-tier districts have been non-metropolitan districts.

Two-tier non-metropolitan districts are subdivisions of two-tier non-metropolitan counties (also known as "shire counties"). These districts typically have populations of 25,000 to 200,000. In this two-tier system, county councils are responsible for some local services, such as education, social services, and roads, while district councils run other services, such as waste collection, local planning, and council housing.

The number of two-tier districts in England has been declining since the creation of many unitary authorities in the 1990s. As of June 2026, there are 164 remaining two-tier districts in England. All of these are expected to be phased out as part of the upcoming structural changes to local government in England. The government intends to move to an entirely unitary pattern of local government across England.