Structural changes to local government in England took place between 2019 and 2023. Some of these changes continue the trend of new unitary authorities being created from other types of local government districts, which was a policy of Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick from 2019.
Ceremonial counties have not seen any changes to their boundaries, as the Lieutenancies Act 1997 was amended to reflect the new local government areas that comprise them.
Changes in 2019 In all new authorities created in 2019, new councils were elected on 2 May 2019, at the same time as local elections in other parts of the country. See 2019 United Kingdom local elections for details.
Dorset
Status: Completed
On 1 April 2019, the non-metropolitan county of Dorset and its six non-metropolitan districts were abolished, along with the unitary authorities of Poole and Bournemouth, with two new unitary authorities created in their place.New unitary authorities formally takeover from Dorset's nine councils from Public Sector Executive The new unitary authorities are: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, covering the areas of the former unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole as well as the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch Dorset, which merged the five remaining non-metropolitan districts of East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset, and Weymouth and Portland, as well as the former county council
Charter trustees were established for Bournemouth and for Poole as a consequence. For details of the inaugural elections to the new councils, see 2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election and 2019 Dorset Council election.
Somerset
Status: Completed
On 1 April 2019, the number of districts in the non-metropolitan county of Somerset was reduced from five to four, when Taunton Deane and West Somerset were merged as Somerset West and Taunton. This new district was not a unitary authority, and the two-tier structure of county and district councils remained in place.
Charter trustees were established for Taunton as a consequence. The inaugural election took place in 2019.
Suffolk
Status: Completed
On 1 April 2019, the number of districts in Suffolk was reduced from seven to five. West Suffolk was created by merging Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury. East Suffolk was created by merging Suffolk Coastal and Waveney. These new districts are not unitary authorities, and the two-tier structure of county and district councils remains in place.
For details of the inaugural elections to the new councils, see 2019 East Suffolk District Council election and 2019 West Suffolk District Council election.
Changes in 2020 In all new authorities created in 2020, new councils were scheduled to be elected on 7 May 2020, along with local elections in other parts of the country. However, all local elections in the United Kingdom were postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so elections scheduled for 2020 were instead held on 6 May 2021. See 2021 United Kingdom local elections for details.
Buckinghamshire
Status: Completed
A new unitary authority, Buckinghamshire Council, replaced Buckinghamshire County Council and the non-metropolitan districts of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks, and Wycombe on 1 April 2020. This change was proposed by Martin Tett, leader of the county council, and backed by then-Communities Secretary James Brokenshire. It received approval from Parliament in May 2019.Buckinghamshire unitary council plan gets go-ahead from BBC News The existing unitary authority of Milton Keynes was not affected; since 1 April 2020, the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire has therefore been composed of two unitary authorities.
Before this was approved by Parliament, the district councils had proposed a different plan in which Aylesbury Vale would become a unitary authority and the three southern districts would become another unitary authority. The district councils opposed the single unitary Buckinghamshire plan, and considered legal action against it.District council joins plans to take legal action over "undemocratic" unitary authority from Bucks Free Press
For details of the inaugural elections to the new council, see 2021 Buckinghamshire Council election.
Changes in 2021 In all new authorities created in 2021, new councils were elected on 6 May 2021, at the same time as local elections in other parts of the country. See 2021 United Kingdom local elections for details.
Northamptonshire
Status: Completed
On 1 April 2021, the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire and its seven districts were abolished, and two new unitary authorities were created: North Northamptonshire, consisting of the old non-metropolitan districts of Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, and Wellingborough West Northamptonshire, consisting of the old non-metropolitan districts of Daventry, Northampton, and South Northamptonshire
The Conservative national government proposed the changes in Northamptonshire as a cost saving measure, as the Conservative-led county council had been experiencing financial difficulty. The joint committee for West Northamptonshire claimed that the changes would save 85 million pounds per year.Northamptonshire: Crisis council replacement plan decision postponed from BBC NewsNorthamptonshire County Council replacement 'will save £85m a year' from BBC News The Northamptonshire (Structural Change) Order 2019 (SCO) was brought before Parliament in October 2019, but due to the dissolution of Parliament on 6 November leading up to the general election on 12 December 2019, the changes were not then given final approval.Unitary councils - Update on unitary legislation from northamptonshire.gov.uk Parliament went on Christmas break after the election, and the Order was eventually made on 14 February 2020.
For details of the inaugural elections to the new councils, see 2021 North Northamptonshire Council election and 2021 West Northamptonshire Council election.
Changes in 2023 Several new authorities came into operation in April 2023. In each case, new councils were elected on 5 May 2022, at the same time as local elections in other parts of the country. See 2023 United Kingdom local elections for details.
Cumbria
Status: Completed
On 1 April 2023, the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria and its six districts were abolished and replaced by two unitary authorities: Cumberland, consisting of the old non-metropolitan districts of Allerdale, Carlisle, and Copeland Westmorland and Furness, consisting of the old non-metropolitan districts of Barrow-in-Furness, Eden, and South Lakeland
In October 2020, the UK government invited proposals for reform of arrangements in Cumbria by 2023. The area was previously served by the Cumbria County Council, as well as six non-metropolitan district councils.Local government reorganisation in Cumbria from Allerdale Borough Council
Barrow Borough Council and South Lakeland District Council (in Cumbria) and Lancaster City Council (in Lancashire) proposed in 2020 to merge themselves into a Morecambe Bay unitary authority.
The idea of a Morecambe Bay authority has been proposed several times previously. If the Redcliffe-Maud Report had been implemented, Furness & North Lancashire would have been one of the unitary authorities within the North West Province. Before the unsuccessful 2004 North East England devolution referendum, when similar referendums were also planned in North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber, one proposed structure below the region level in North West England would have created a Morecambe Bay unitary authority, with the rest of Cumbria and Lancashire being divided into more unitary authorities.
In July 2021, local government minister Robert Jenrick approved plans for two new unitary authorities, Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland. Parliamentary approval would be sought around the end of 2021, with the intention of holding elections for the new councils in May 2022 and the councils going live in April 2023. The names for the proposed new authorities were announced in November 2021. The legislation required to bring the new structure into operation, the Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022 (2022 No. 331), was made on 17 March 2022 and came into force the following day.
For details of the inaugural elections to the new councils, see 2022 Cumberland Council election and 2022 Westmorland and Furness Council election.
North Yorkshire
Status: Completed
A new unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council, replaced North Yorkshire County Council and the non-metropolitan districts of Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby on 1 April 2023.
In October 2020, the UK government invited proposals for reform of arrangements in North Yorkshire by 2023. The proposals were only to cover the areas of the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and the City of York, and not the parts of North Yorkshire outside those two areas (Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and the southern part of Stockton-on-Tees). Later that year, North Yorkshire County Council proposed a unitary authority to replace existing non-metropolitan districts (but not the City of York, which was already a separate unitary authority).
Around the same time, the districts of Craven, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby submitted a proposal for an "East & West model" of two unitary councils in North Yorkshire, including the City of York. The two new councils would cover Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby and York in the east, and Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate and Richmondshire in the west.
In July 2021, local government minister Robert Jenrick approved plans for a single unitary authority, to be known as North Yorkshire Council. Parliamentary approval would be sought around the end of 2021, with the intention of the councils going live in April 2023. County councillors elected in May 2022 would serve for an extended term of five years, continuing as councillors for the new authority from 2023.
For details of the inaugural elections to the new council, see 2022 North Yorkshire Council election.
Somerset
Status: Completed
A new unitary authority, Somerset Council, replaced Somerset County Council and the non-metropolitan districts of Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, and South Somerset on 1 April 2023.
Changes in Somerset have been under consideration since at least 2018. The existing unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset were not affected by any of these proposals. In October 2020, the UK government invited proposals for reform of arrangements in Somerset by 2023. There were two rival proposals: a single unitary council, or two unitary councils (east and west).
In 2020, the county council submitted a proposal known as "One Somerset" to the government. Under this plan, the county council and the four non-metropolitan districts of Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton and South Somerset would be replaced by a single unitary authority to be known as Somerset Council.
The four district councils had created a rival proposal, known as "Stronger Somerset", where the county and district councils would be replaced by two unitary authorities. Mendip and South Somerset would be merged to create Eastern Somerset, while Sedgemoor and Somerset West and Taunton would be merged to create Western Somerset. The district councils argued that a single authority would be too far removed from the citizens, and said that forming two instead of one would help save £204million. District councillors agreed to this plan in August 2020.