Northern Ireland is divided into 11 districts for local government purposes. In
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
, local councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
; for example they have no responsibility for education, road-building or housing (although they do nominate members to the advisory
Northern Ireland Housing Council
The Housing Council is a public body in Northern Ireland, consulted by the Housing Executive and Department for Communities
The Department for Communities (DfC, Irish: ''An Roinn Pobal'', Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment fur Commonities'') is a ...
). Their functions include
planning
Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is c ...
,
waste and recycling services, leisure and community services, building control and local economic and cultural development. The collection of
rates is handled centrally by the
Land and Property Services agency of the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the t ...
.
Local Government Districts
The 11 districts were established in 2015. Basic geographical statistics are shown below; data collected for
'religion or religion brought up in' and
'national identity' by district are listed separately.
Previously (between 1972 and 2015) the country was divided into
26 smaller districts.
Composition of District Councils
Based on the
2019 Northern Ireland local elections.
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Last updated 25 November 2022''
History
The current pattern of 11 local government districts was established on 1 April 2015, as a result of the
reform process that started in 2005.
The previous pattern of local government in Northern Ireland, with 26 councils, was established in 1973 by the
Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 and the
Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 to replace the previous system established by the
Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898
The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, ...
. The system was based on the recommendations of the Macrory Report, of June 1970, which presupposed the continued existence of the
Government of Northern Ireland to act as a regional-level authority.
From 1921 to 1973, Northern Ireland was divided into six
administrative counties (subdivided into
urban and rural districts) and two
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent t ...
s. The counties and county boroughs continue to exist for the purposes of
lieutenancy
A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
and
shrievalty. This system, with the abolition of rural districts, remains the model for local government in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
. (See also
List of rural and urban districts in Northern Ireland for more details)
Elections
Councillors are elected for a four-year term of office under the
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
(STV) system. Elections were last held on
2 May 2019 and are next scheduled to be held on
4 May 2023. To qualify for election, a councillor candidate must be:
* at least 18 years of age, and
* a
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...
or
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
citizen
In addition, they must either:
* be a local elector for the district, or
* have, during the whole of the 12-month period prior to the election, either owned or occupied land in the district, or else resided or worked in the district
Combinations
The districts are combined for various purposes.
Eurostat NUTS level 3
In the
Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), Northern Ireland is divided into five parts at level 3
Former Education and Library Boards
There were five education and library boards (ELBs) in Northern Ireland.
As part of the Review of Public Administration process, the library functions of the ELBs were taken over by a new body, the Northern Ireland Library Authority (branded Libraries NI) in April 2009.
The education and skills functions were centralised into a single
Education Authority for Northern Ireland in April 2015.
The boards were as follows:
Former Health and Social Services Boards
There were four health and social services boards which were replaced by a single
Health and Social Care Board in April 2009.
The former health and social services boards were as follows:
Reform
In June 2002, the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the t ...
established a Review of Public Administration to review the arrangements for the accountability, development, administration and delivery of public services. Among its recommendations were a reduction in the number of districts. In 2005
Peter Hain, the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced proposals to reduce the number of councils to seven. The names and boundaries of the seven districts were announced in March 2007. In March 2008 the restored Northern Executive agreed to create eleven new councils instead of the original seven.
The first elections were due to take place in May 2011. However, by May 2010 disagreements among parties in the executive over district boundaries were expected to delay the reforms until 2015. In June 2010 the proposed reforms were abandoned following the failure of the Northern Ireland Executive to reach agreement.
However, on 12 March 2012, the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the t ...
published its programme for government, which included a commitment to reduce the number of councils in Northern Ireland to 11.
See also
*
List of districts in Northern Ireland by area
*
List of districts in Northern Ireland by population density
*
List of districts in Northern Ireland by religion or religion brought up in
*
List of districts in Northern Ireland by national identity
*
Political make-up of local councils in Northern Ireland
*
Local government in England
*
Local government in Scotland
Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the ma ...
*
Local government in Wales
*
Local government in the Republic of Ireland
The functions of local government in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-one local authorities, termed County, City, or City and County Councils. The principal decision-making body in each of the thirty-one local authorities ...
Tables relating to the old 26 council system
*
List of districts in Northern Ireland by national identity
*
List of districts in Northern Ireland by population
Notes
References
External links
Local councils in Northern IrelandNI Direct (Archived)
NI Local Government AssociationReview of Public Administration NILocal Government Boundaries Commissioner for Northern Ireland(Archived)
DOE NI (Archived)
CAIN Web Service (University of Ulster)
CAIN Web Service (University of Ulster)
Northern Ireland Councillor's HandbookLocal Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland (Archived)
Map of all UK local authoritiesOffice for National Statistics, 2009
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