Unitary authority

Aunitary authorityis alocal authorityresponsible for alllocal governmentfunctions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national government.

Typically unitary authorities covertownsorcitieswhich are large enough to function independently of acouncilor other authority. An authority can be a unit of acountyorcombined authority.

Canada

In Canada, each province creates its own system of local government, so terminology varies substantially.

In certain provinces (e.g.Alberta,Nova Scotia) there isonlyone level of local government in that province, so no special term is used to describe the situation.

British Columbiahas only one such municipality,Northern Rockies Regional Municipality,which was established in 2009.

InOntariothe termsingle-tier municipalitiesis used, for a similar concept. Their character varies, and while most function as cities with no upper level of government, some function as counties orregional municipalitieswith no lower municipal subdivisions below them. They exist as individualcensus divisions,as well asseparated municipalities.

Central Europe

In Germany,kreisfreie Stadt(lit. 'circle-free city') is the equivalent term for a city with the competences of both theGemeinde(municipality) and theKreis(district, literallycircle) administrative level. The directly elected chief executive officer of akreisfreie Stadtis calledOberbürgermeister(literallySuperior Burgomaster,in English "Chief Mayor" or "Lord Mayor" ). The British counties have no directly corresponding counterpart in Germany. This German system corresponds tostatutory cities in Austriaandin the Czech Republic.

Denmark

Until 1 January 2007, the municipalities ofCopenhagen,FrederiksbergandBornholmwere not a part of a Danishcounty.

France

The city ofParisworks like a department council and a municipal council. Administratively at state level, it is both a department with a single departmental arrondissement (not to be confused with the 20 city districts of Paris, orarrondissements municipaux,which are local subdivisions existing in very populated municipalities, including Paris, Lyon and Marseille, with their own arrondissement councils and arrondissement mayors also elected during municipal elections), however the prefecture of Paris is split between the prefecture of police of Paris (which covers the three other surrounding departments in the first ring) and the department prefecture (which is also the region prefecture, whose competence on police does not cover the four departments of Paris and the small ring). As the department of Paris has no department council elected during departmental elections, it is not subdivided intocantons,but its 20 districts are considered equivalent.

The department councils of the two departments ofCorsicaand of the region merged into a unitary authority, officially acollectivité territoriale.Its area of competence covers the whole administrative region and the two administrative departments (which were kept at state level with their two prefectures and their respective subprefectures for state-managed services).

The overseas departements and regions were all proposed to merge their single departmental council (conseil départemental) coexisting with their regional council (conseil régional) on the same territory (at state level they are unified asDROMfor their prefectures) into acollectivité unique.The proposal was rejected by local referendum inGuadeloupeand inRéunion,but this occurred inMartiniqueandFrench Guianawhose former departemental and regional councils were merged into a single unitary authority namedassemblée,elected during departmental elections.Mayottewith its newer status of department chose to keep this designation for its unitary authority, named departmental council (no regional council was ever created), but which also has the competence of a regional council (plus a few specific competences transferred from the state like other French overseas).

TheMétropole de Lyonwas created as a metropole from an earlier EPCI (public establishment of intercommunal cooperation) but gained the competences of the departmental council. The departmental council of Rhône only covers the rest of the administrative department (which is still subdivided into two subprefectures, one of which includes the métropole). So the metropole is not a unitary authority, and no longer an EPCI (like other French metropoles), but it has a specific status, considered equivalent to a department council, except that its seats are elected during the municipal French elections (at the same time as its municipal councils in each membercommune), and that (like departments and regions, but unlike other French EPCI's including other metropoles) it is a territorial collectivity, with legal personality and fiscal autonomy.

New Zealand

InNew Zealand,a unitary authority is aterritorial authority(district, city or metropolitan area) that also performs the functions of aregional council(first-level division). There are five unitary authorities, they are (with the year they were constituted):Gisborne District Council(1989),Tasman District Council(1992),Nelson City Council(1992),Marlborough District Council(1992), andAuckland Council(2010).

TheChatham Islands,located east of theSouth Island,have a council with its own special legislation, constituted (1995) with powers similar to those of a regional authority.

Poland

Main article:City with powiat rights

InPoland,amiasto na prawach powiatu,or shortlypowiat grodzki(city withpowiatrights,orurban countyin short) is a, typically big, city which is also responsible for district (poviat) administrative level, being part of no otherpowiat(e.g.Kraków,Łódź,Wrocław,Poznań). In total, 65 cities in Poland have this status.

Taiwan

Most citiesinTaiwan,in contrast tocounties,have only one tier of local government. Unlike the threecounty-administered cities(Chiayi,Keelung,andHsinchu), they are independent of their surrounding county.Special municipalities,with the exception of a fewmountain indigenous districtswithin them, are also unitary.

United Kingdom

England

Main article:Unitary authorities of England

Bournemouth:Unitary Authority tree. The tree on the left, on the concourse of theBournemouth Town Hall,was planted on 1 April 1997 to mark the occasion of Bournemouth council becoming a unitary authority on that day. This was part of the local government reorganisation of the late 1990s, when certain more urban districts were essentially separated from the relevant county council, with no services for Bournemouth residents now being carried out byDorset County Council.

InEngland,"unitary authorities" are those local authorities set up in accordance with the Local Government Changes for England Regulations 1994 made under powers conferred by theLocal Government Act 1992to form a single tier oflocal governmentin specified areas and which are responsible for almost all local government functions within such areas. While outwardly appearing to be similar, single-tier authorities formed using older legislation are notunitary authoritiesthus excluding e.g. theCouncil of the Isles of Scillyor any other single-tier authority formed under the older legislation and not since given the status of a unitary authority.

This is distinct from the two-tier system of local government which still exists in most of England, where local government functions are divided betweencounty councils(the upper tier) anddistrictor borough councils. Until 1996 two-tier systems existed inScotlandandWales,but these have now been replaced by systems based on a single tier of local government with some functions shared between groups of adjacent authorities. A single-tier system has existed inNorthern Irelandsince 1973.

For many years the description of the number of tiers in UK local government arrangements has routinely ignored any current or previous bodies at the lowest level of authorities elected by the voters within their area such asparish(in England and Wales) or community councils; such bodies do not exist or have not existed in all areas.

Rest of the United Kingdom

The definitive description "unitary authority" is specific to England alone in UK legislation. Thus single-tier authorities elsewhere in the UK are not properly styled as unitary authorities; also their rights, privileges and responsibilities are not the same.

Northern Ireland

Main article:Local government in Northern Ireland

See also:Category:Administrative divisions of Northern Ireland

Districts of Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is divided into eleven districts for local government purposes. In Northern Ireland local councils have no responsibility for education, road building or housing (though they do nominate members to the advisoryNorthern Ireland Housing Council). Their functions includewaste and recycling services,leisure and community services, building control and local economic and cultural development. Since their reorganisation in 2015 councils in Northern Ireland have also taken on responsibility for planning functions. The collection ofratesis handled by theLand and Property Servicesagency.

Scotland

Main article:Local government in Scotland

Local authorities inScotlandare unitary in nature but not in name. TheLocal Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994created a single tier of local government throughout Scotland. On 1 April 1996, 32 local government areas, each with acouncil,replaced the previoustwo-tier structure,which had regional, islands and district councils.Comhairle nan Eilean Siar(formerly the Western Isles Council) uses the alternativeGaelicdesignationComhairle.While the phrase "unitary authority" is not used in Scottish legislation (whether from the Scottish Parliament or the UK Parliament), the term can be encountered (used either descriptively or erroneously) in a few official publicationsand in (usually erroneous) use by United Kingdom government departments.

Wales

Main article:Local government in Wales

Local authorities inWalesare unitary in nature but are described by theLocal Government (Wales) Act 1994as "principal councils", and their areas asprincipal areas.Various other legislation (e.g. s.91(1)Environment Act 1995) includes the counties and county boroughs of Wales within their individual interpretations of the phrase "unitary authority" as an interpretive not a definitive description. In s.2 of the Act each council formed for a county is allocated the respective English and Welsh descriptions of "County Council"or"Cyngor Sir",each council formed for aCounty Boroughis allocated the respective descriptions of "County Borough Council" or "Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol";in all cases the shorter alternative forms" Council "or"Cyngor"can be used.

United States

There are several types of single-tier governments in the United States. In the states ofConnecticut,Rhode Island,and much ofMassachusetts,county government has been abolished, and the municipalities (known asNew England towns) are the only governing tier below the state government, though the former counties still exist in the ceremonial sense. In some areas, the reverse is true; for example,Howard County, MarylandandArlington County, Virginia,are examples of counties that, despite being densely developed, have no municipalities and are thus the only tier of general-purpose local government.

In Virginia, all municipalities withcitystatus are, by definition, independent from any county. Three other cities across the United States are alsoindependent of any county government:Baltimore, Maryland,St. Louis, Missouri,andCarson City, Nevada.There are also severalconsolidated citieswhere the county government and municipal government are unified.San FranciscoandPhiladelphiaare two examples, wherein the city and county are coterminous and have one singular governing body.

TheDistrict of Columbiahas had no lower tiers of government since 1871. Arlington County andAlexandria, Virginia,werereturned to Virginiain 1847. TheDistrict of Columbia Organic Act of 1871abolished all local governments includingsingle remaining countyand its two municipalities, Washington andGeorgetown.

See also

• Unitary state