For local government purposes, Wales is divided into 22 Unitary Authorities . There are 9 counties, 3 cities1, and 10 county boroughs, although all have equal powers. Collectively these are known as the . They came into being on April 1 , 1996 by virtue of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (1994 c. 19).
The current names of certain principal areas are different from those specified in the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 . The following changes took place, all with effect from April 2 , 1996 : {Link without Title}
The lowest level of subdivision below principal areas are . Each Welsh principal area is subdivided into communities. They have elected Community Council s (CCs) which perform a number of roles, such as providing local facilities, and representing their communities to larger local government bodies. Community councils are the equivalent of English Parish Councils . A community council may call itself a 'town council' if it wishes to do so. Two Welsh communities Bangor and St David's have City Status and are therefore called 'City Councils'. Communities which are too small to have a council have a Community Meeting instead, an example of Direct Democracy .
''See also List Of Communities In Wales ''
There are four Police forces in Wales. These are:
# North Wales Police (''Heddlu Gogledd Cymru'')
# Dyfed-Powys Police (''Heddlu Dyfed Powys'')
# South Wales Police (''Heddlu De Cymru'')
# Gwent Police (''Heddlu Gwent'')
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There are three Fire And Rescue Services in Wales. The present Welsh fire services date from 1996. Each covers a number of principal areas. These are:
# North Wales Fire And Rescue Service (''Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Gogledd Cymru'')
# Mid And West Wales Fire And Rescue Service (''Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Canolbarth a Gorllewin Cymru'')
# South Wales Fire And Rescue Service (''Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub De Cymru'')
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From 1889 to 1974, administrative counties of Wales were used for local government for the first time. These were created by the Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict, c. 41) based on the Traditional Counties Of Wales , but they were not entirely identical.
# Monmouthshire (''Sir Fynwy'')
# Glamorganshire or Glamorgan (''Morgannwg'')
# Carmarthenshire (''Sir Gaerfyrddin'')
# Pembrokeshire (''Sir Benfro'')
# Cardiganshire (''Sir Aberteifi'')
# Brecknockshire or Breconshire (''Sir Frycheiniog'')
# Radnorshire (''Sir Faesyfed'')
# Montgomeryshire (''Sir Drefaldwyn'')
# Denbighshire (''Sir Ddinbych'')
# Flintshire (''Sir y Fflint'')
# Merionethshire (''Sir Feirionnydd'')
# Caernarfonshire (''Sir Gaernarfon'')
# Anglesey (''Ynys Môn'')
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The table shows the area and population of administrative counties in Wales and Monmouthshire as recorded at the censuses of 1891 and 1961.Census of England and Wales 1891, Vol. I, Table III. Administrative Counties and County Boroughs; Area, and Houses and Population in 1891 (Historic GIS Project, Queen's University, Belfast) Census England and Wales: County Reports (www.visionofbritain.org.uk) [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census/report_page.jsp?rpt_id=EW1961COU&show=DB
(1)Renamed from Carnarvonshire, July 1 , 1926 1931 Census of England and Wales, county report for Caernarvonshire
(2)Monmouthshire's status as a county of Wales was ambiguous until 1974.
There were also a number of administratively independent County Borough s (not shown):
- Cardiff created in 1889 (associated with Glamorgan)
- Swansea , created in 1889 (associated with Glamorgan)
- Newport , separated from Monmouthshire in 1891
- Merthyr Tydfil , separated from Glamorgan in 1908
In 1974, the existing administrative counties were abolished and replaced by eight new two-tier authorities, instead called 'counties' by the Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c. 70). These counties were sub-divided into lower-tier districts.
The counties were all given names in Welsh only, apart from the three in Glamorgan, which had English names as well as Welsh. The creation of these new administrative areas effectively separated the administrative function from the traditional counties, although in reality this had occurred in 1889.
When these two-tier counties were abolished in 1996, their names and areas were retained with slight modifications for some purposes such as Lieutenancy , and became known as the Preserved Counties Of Wales . These were further amended in 2003 by S.I. 2003/974 to ensure that each unitary area is wholly within one preserved county.
See Also: Districts of Wales
The counties were sub-divided into districts, these were:
- Clwyd — Alyn And Deeside , Colwyn , Delyn , Glyndwr , Rhuddlan , Wrexham Maelor
- Dyfed — Carmarthen , Ceredigion , Dinefwr , Llanelli , Preseli Pembrokeshire ''(named Preseli until 1987)'', South Pembrokeshire
- Gwent — Blaenau Gwent , Islwyn , Monmouth , Newport , Torfaen
- Gwynedd — Aberconwy , Arfon , Dwyfor , Meirionnydd , Anglesey
- Mid Glamorgan — Cynon Valley , Ogwr , Merthyr Tydfil , Rhondda , Rhymney Valley , Taff–Ely
- Powys — Brecknock , Montgomery , Radnor
- South Glamorgan — Cardiff , Vale Of Glamorgan
- West Glamorgan — Lliw Valley , Neath , Port Talbot ''(named Afan until 1986)'', Swansea
The redistribution of these districts into the current unitary authorities is as follows:
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