Metropolitan borough
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A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England, covering urban areas within metropolitan counties.
Origin of the term
The first metropolitan boroughs were created in 1899 by the London Government Act 1899 which created 28 metropolitan boroughs as sub-divisions of the County of London, they replaced the earlier vestries as the second tier of local government. They were Battersea, Bermondsey, Bethnal Green, Camberwell, Chelsea, Deptford, Finsbury, Fulham, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith, Hampstead, Holborn, Islington, Kensington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Paddington, Poplar, Shoreditch, Southwark, St Marylebone, St Pancras, Stepney, Stoke Newington, Wandsworth, Westminster, Woolwich
In 1965 the County of London was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced with Greater London. The 28 metropolitan boroughs were also abolished and replaced with larger London boroughs.
Current usage
The current metropolitan boroughs were created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. New metropolitan counties were created to cover the six largest urban areas in England outside of Greater London, and these were subdivided into metropolitan boroughs. The new authorities were actually defined in law as metropolitan districts, however, all of them inherited, or have been granted Royal Charters and given borough or city status. The new metropolitan boroughs mostly replaced the county boroughs, municipal boroughs and urban and rural districts which preceeded them.
Metropolitan districts were originally part of a two-tier structure of local government, and shared power with the metropolitan county councils (MCCs). They differed from non-metropolitan districts, in the division of powers between district and county councils. Metropolitan districts were Local Education Authorities and were responsible for social services — in non-metropolitan counties these services were the responsibility of county councils.
In 1986 the metropolitan county councils were abolished (by the Local Government Act 1985) and most of their functions were devolved to the boroughs, making them to a large extent unitary authorities. However, this description is not always used; although most of the functions of the MCCs were devolved to the boroughs, some of their functions were taken over by joint bodies such as Passenger Transport Authorities, and joint fire, police and waste disposal authorities.
The metropolitan boroughs are:
| Metropolitan County | Metropolitan Boroughs |
|---|---|
| Greater Manchester | Manchester, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan |
| Merseyside | Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral |
| South Yorkshire | Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham |
| Tyne and Wear | Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Sunderland |
| West Midlands | Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton |
| West Yorkshire | Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Wakefield |
For the historic London metropolitan boroughs see County of London.
See also
Template:England Govde:Metropolitan Borough it:Distretto metropolitano d'Inghilterra