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Some districts are styled as Borough s, Cities , or Royal Borough s, however these are purely honorific titles and do not alter the status of the district. All Boroughs and Cities and some Districts are led by a Mayor who in most cases is a ceremonial figure elected by the Council , but - after the most recent local government reform - is occasionally a directly Elected Mayor who takes most of the policy decisions instead of the Council. HISTORY See Also: Subdivisions of England The setting down of the current structure of districts in England began in 1965 when Greater London and its 32 London Boroughs were created. They are the oldest type of district still in use. In 1974 metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties (also known as ' Shire Counties ') were created across the rest of England and were spilt into Metropolitan District s and Non-metropolitan District s. The status of the London boroughs and metropolitan districts changed in 1986 when they absorbed the functions and some of the powers of the metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council which were abolished. In London power is now shared again, albeit on a different basis, with the Greater London Authority . During the 1990s a further kind of district was created, the Unitary Authority , which combined the functions and status of county and district. TYPES There are in total 36 Metropolitan District s, 32 London Borough s, 284 non-metropolitan districts (if the Isle of Wight is counted as a district), the Isles Of Scilly , and the City Of London , making a total of 354 district-level authorities. Metropolitan districts See Also: metropolitan districts Metropolitan districts (or ''metropolitan boroughs'') are a sub division of a Metropolitan County . These are similar to unitary authorities, as the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986. Most of the powers of the county councils were devolved to the districts but some services are run jointly by joint boards and organisations. The districts typically have populations of 174,000 to 1.1 million. Non-metropolitan district (shire district) See Also: Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts (also known as shire districts) are second-tier authorities which share power with County Council s. They are subdivisions of Shire Counties and the most common type of district. The districts typically have populations of 25,000 to 200,000. Where this two-tier system exists, the county councils are responsible for running some local services, such as education, social services and roads, whilst district councils run other services, such as waste collection, local planning and council housing. The number of non-metropolitan districts has varied over time. Initially there were 296; after mergers in the 1990s their numbers were reduced to 284. Unitary authorities See Also: unitary authority These are single-tier districts which have no second level of government, and are responsible for running all local services in their areas, combining both county and district functions. Unitary authorities often cover large towns and cities as this is deemed to be more efficient than a two-tier structure. In addition in small English counties such as Rutland and Herefordshire , the county council is a unitary authority, and has no districts. London boroughs See Also: London borough The London boroughs are sub-divisions of Greater London . They were established in 1965 . Between 1965 and 1986 a two-tier structure of government existed in Greater London and the boroughs shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). When the GLC was abolished in 1986 they gained similar status to the unitary authorities. In 2000 the Greater London Authority was established and a two-tier structure was restored, albeit with a change to the balance of powers and responsibilities. TRIVIA
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