Local government in England

Local government in England broadly consists of three layers: civil parishes, local authority districts, and non-metropolitan counties. These districts and counties are known as principal areas and cover almost all of England. The local authorities for these areas are known as principal councils. The exceptions are the City of London and the Isles of Scilly, which each have unique forms of local government. Local government is not standardised across the country, with the last comprehensive reform taking place in 1974.

Civil parishes are the most local tier of local government, and primarily exist in rural and smaller urban areas. The responsibilities of parish councils are limited and generally consist of providing and maintaining public spaces and facilities.

Principal councils are responsible for services such as education, transport, planning applications, and waste collection and disposal. In most of England, there is a single level of local authority district known as a unitary authority. In other areas, a two-tier system of local government is used in which a non-metropolitan county council shares responsibility with a non-metropolitan district council for these services; this two-tier system has been phased out over time with the last remaining two-tier authorities scheduled to be replaced by unitary authorities by 2028 in the upcoming structural changes to local government in England.

Local authorities are considered statutory corporations and have no authority to act other than where they have been explicitly allowed by law. However, since the Localism Act 2011, local authorities have had a general power of competence meaning that 'a local authority has power to do anything that individuals generally may do.'

As of June 2026 (in addition to local authorities), England also has the following public bodies which have local and regional responsibilities: