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Unitary local government

This research briefing provides a guide to the concept of ‘unitary local government’, in the context of debates over local government restructuring in England in the 2010s and 2020s.

As Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have had entirely single-tier systems of local government since the 1990s, this briefing covers England only.

Information about the programme of unitary restructuring instituted by the Labour government elected in 2024 can be found in the Library research briefing Local government restructuring 2026.

Section 1 sets out the legal procedure through which unitary authorities are created and provides a brief history of political debates and the creation of unitary authorities since 1974. Section 2 assesses Government policy on the topic of restructuring and unitary authorities since 2010, including decisions in mid-2021 on restructuring in Cumbria, Somerset and North Yorkshire. Section 3 provides details of previous rounds of restructuring in England.

Section 4 sets out details of reports modelling the potential savings that could be achieved by such changes, plus the figures that are available from previous restructuring processes in England. Section 5 provides details of proposals for new unitary authorities in England that emerged during 2019 and 2020, together with related commentary.

Section 6 notes a number of the rationales for restructuring, and for merger of smaller authorities into larger units, that have occurred in recent debates in England. A small amount of debate has also taken place on how to achieve the benefits associated with restructuring through alternative means: this is set out in section 7. Section 8 provides details of international academic research on the topic of local government mergers and reforms.