unitary authority
An all-purpose local authority created under the Local Government Act 1992 and subsequent legislation to replace the two-tier system of local government by county and district councils. Unitary authorities were established in Wales (and Scotland) in April 1996 and in certain non-metropolitan counties in England between 1996 and 1998 (with further changes since 2009); single-tier authorities also administer the former metropolitan county areas (since 1986) and the Isle of Wight (since 1995). |