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.
Read more about this topic: Non-metropolitan County
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