Local government in Northern Ireland is divided among 11 districts. Councils in Northern Ireland do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom; for example they have no responsibility for education, road-building or housing (although they do nominate members to the advisory Northern Ireland Housing Council). Their functions include planning, waste and recycling services, leisure and community services, building control and local economic and cultural development. The collection of rates is handled centrally by the Land and Property Services agency of the Northern Ireland Executive.
The 11 districts were established in 2015.[1][2] Basic geographical statistics are shown below. Previously (between 1972 and 2015) the country was divided into 26 smaller districts.
Councillors are elected for a four-year term of office under the single transferable vote (STV) system. Elections were last held on 18 May 2023. To qualify for election, a councillor candidate must be:
have, during the whole of the 12-month period prior to the election, either owned or occupied land in the district, or else resided or worked in the district
Armagh, Cookstown, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Magherafelt, Newry and Mourne, Omagh
411,893
22.7
Former Education and Library Boardsedit
There were five education and library boards (ELBs) in Northern Ireland.
As part of the Review of Public Administration process, the library functions of the ELBs were taken over by a new body, the Northern Ireland Library Authority (branded Libraries NI) in April 2009.[11]
In June 2002, the Northern Ireland Executive established a Review of Public Administration to review the arrangements for the accountability, development, administration and delivery of public services. Among its recommendations were a reduction in the number of districts.[14] In 2005 Peter Hain, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced proposals to reduce the number of councils to seven.[15] The names and boundaries of the seven districts were announced in March 2007.[16] In March 2008 the restored Northern Executive agreed to create eleven new councils instead of the original seven.[17][18] The first elections were due to take place in May 2011. However, by May 2010 disagreements among parties in the executive over district boundaries were expected to delay the reforms until 2015.[19] In June 2010 the proposed reforms were abandoned following the failure of the Northern Ireland Executive to reach agreement.[20][21] However, on 12 March 2012, the Northern Ireland Executive published its programme for government, which included a commitment to reduce the number of councils in Northern Ireland to 11.[22]
^Council Meetings Fermanagh and Omagh District Council
^"Contact". Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^(PDF). Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
^. Mid Ulster District Council. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
^"Report of the Review Body on Local Government in Northern Ireland 1970". CAIN Web Service – Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland (University of Ulster). Her Majesty's Stationery Office. June 1970. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
^The Northern Ireland (Lieutenancy) Order 1975 (S.I. 1975 No.156)
^Campbell officially launches a new era in libraries NI-Libraries.net, 2 April 2009; Retrieved 23 July 2013 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
^"Health and Social Board". Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^"Review of Public Administration". Northern Ireland Executive. Retrieved 8 July 2010.[dead link]
^"Major reform of local government". BBC News. 22 November 2005. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^Revised Recommendations for new council boundaries unveiled (Press Release) Office of the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner, 30 March 2007 7 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^"NI councils reduced from 26 to 11". BBC News. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^Foster announces the future shape of local government NI Executive, 13 March 2008 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^"Plan to cut Northern Ireland councils may be delayed until 2015". Belfast Telegraph. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
^"The executive fails to agree a deal on council reform". BBC News. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
^"Local Government Association Incensed as Minister Stops the Reform Process". Northern Ireland Local Government Association. 15 June 2010. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
^"Priority 5: Delivering High Quality and Efficient Public Services; Key Commitments" (PDF). Programme for Government 2011–15. Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
External linksedit
NI Direct (Archived)
NI Local Government Association
(Archived)
DOE NI (Archived)
Macrory Report CAIN Web Service (University of Ulster)
Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 CAIN Web Service (University of Ulster)
Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland (Archived)
Map of all UK local authorities Office for National Statistics, 2009
January 01, 1970
local, government, northern, ireland, divided, among, districts, councils, northern, ireland, carry, same, range, functions, those, rest, united, kingdom, example, they, have, responsibility, education, road, building, housing, although, they, nominate, member. Local government in Northern Ireland is divided among 11 districts Councils in Northern Ireland do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom for example they have no responsibility for education road building or housing although they do nominate members to the advisory Northern Ireland Housing Council Their functions include planning waste and recycling services leisure and community services building control and local economic and cultural development The collection of rates is handled centrally by the Land and Property Services agency of the Northern Ireland Executive Contents 1 Local Government Districts 1 1 Composition of District Councils 2 History 3 Elections 4 Combinations 4 1 Eurostat NUTS level 3 4 2 Former Education and Library Boards 4 3 Former Health and Social Services Boards 5 Reform 6 See also 6 1 Tables relating to the old 26 council system 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksLocal Government Districts editSee also List of districts in Northern Ireland by religion or religion brought up in and List of districts in Northern Ireland by national identity nbsp The 11 districts were established in 2015 1 2 Basic geographical statistics are shown below Previously between 1972 and 2015 the country was divided into 26 smaller districts District Council Meeting place Population 3 2021 Census Densityper km2 Area in km2 No on map Antrim and Newtownabbey Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Newtownabbey and Antrim alternately 145 852 255 571 3 Ards and North Down Ards and North Down Borough Council Bangor 163 827 357 458 2 Armagh City Banbridge and Craigavon Armagh City Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Craigavon 219 127 165 1 332 6 Belfast Belfast City Council Belfast 345 006 2 595 133 1 Causeway Coast and Glens Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Coleraine 4 141 664 72 1 980 8 Derry and Strabane Derry City and Strabane District Council Derry 150 834 122 1 237 10 Fermanagh and Omagh Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Omagh and Enniskillen 5 116 926 41 2 836 11 Lisburn and Castlereagh Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council Lisburn 6 149 272 296 504 4 Mid and East Antrim Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Ballymena 7 139 127 133 1 045 7 Mid Ulster Mid Ulster District Council Dungannon 8 150 598 83 1 823 9 Newry Mourne and Down Newry Mourne and Down District Council Downpatrick and Newry 182 345 112 1 628 5 Composition of District Councils edit Based on the 2023 Northern Ireland local elections Name SF DUP APNI UUP SDLP TUV GPNI PBP PUP Ind Total Antrim amp Newtownabbey 9 13 8 7 1 2 40 Ards amp North Down 14 12 8 1 2 3 40 Armagh Banbridge amp Craigavon 15 13 4 6 1 1 1 41 Belfast 22 14 11 2 5 1 3 1 1 60 Causeway Coast amp Glens 12 13 5 4 3 2 1 40 Derry amp Strabane 18 5 3 10 1 3 40 Fermanagh amp Omagh 21 6 2 7 3 1 40 Lisburn amp Castlereagh 4 14 13 6 2 1 40 Mid amp East Antrim 4 14 7 8 5 2 40 Mid Ulster 19 11 2 5 3 40 Newry Mourne amp Down 20 5 5 1 8 2 41 Total 144 122 67 54 39 9 5 2 1 19 462 Last updated 23 May 2023History editThe current pattern of 11 local government districts was established on 1 April 2015 as a result of the reform process that started in 2005 The previous pattern of local government in Northern Ireland with 26 councils was established in 1973 by the Local Government Boundaries Act Northern Ireland 1971 and the Local Government Act Northern Ireland 1972 to replace the previous system established by the Local Government Ireland Act 1898 The system was based on the recommendations of the Macrory Report of June 1970 which presupposed the continued existence of the Government of Northern Ireland to act as a regional level authority 9 From 1921 to 1973 Northern Ireland was divided into six administrative counties subdivided into urban and rural districts and two county boroughs The counties and county boroughs continue to exist for the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty 10 This system with the abolition of rural districts remains the model for local government in the Republic of Ireland See also List of rural and urban districts in Northern Ireland for more details Elections editCouncillors are elected for a four year term of office under the single transferable vote STV system Elections were last held on 18 May 2023 To qualify for election a councillor candidate must be at least 18 years of age and a Commonwealth of Nations or European Union citizen In addition they must either be a local elector for the district or have during the whole of the 12 month period prior to the election either owned or occupied land in the district or else resided or worked in the districtCombinations editThe districts are combined for various purposes Eurostat NUTS level 3 edit In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics NUTS Northern Ireland is divided into five parts at level 3 Name Area Population 2011 of population UKN01 Belfast 280 962 15 5 nbsp UKN02 Outer Belfast Carrickfergus Castlereagh Lisburn Newtownabbey North Down 391 560 21 6 UKN03 East Antrim Ards Ballymena Banbridge Craigavon Down Larne 439 682 24 3 UKN04 North Ballymoney Coleraine Derry Limavady Moyle Strabane 288 138 15 9 UKN05 West and South Armagh Cookstown Dungannon Fermanagh Magherafelt Newry and Mourne Omagh 411 893 22 7 Former Education and Library Boards edit There were five education and library boards ELBs in Northern Ireland As part of the Review of Public Administration process the library functions of the ELBs were taken over by a new body the Northern Ireland Library Authority branded Libraries NI in April 2009 11 The education and skills functions were centralised into a single Education Authority for Northern Ireland in April 2015 12 The boards were as follows Name Area 1 Belfast nbsp 2 North Eastern Antrim Ballymena Ballymoney Carrickfergus Coleraine Larne Magherafelt Moyle Newtownabbey 3 South Eastern Ards Castlereagh Down Lisburn and North Down 4 Southern Armagh Banbridge Cookstown Craigavon Dungannon and South Tyrone Newry and Mourne 5 Western Derry Fermanagh Limavady Omagh Strabane Former Health and Social Services Boards edit There were four health and social services boards which were replaced by a single Health and Social Care Board in April 2009 13 The former health and social services boards were as follows Name Area 1 Eastern Ards Belfast Castlereagh Down Lisburn North Down nbsp 2 Northern Antrim Ballymena Ballymoney Carrickfergus Coleraine Cookstown Larne Magherafelt Moyle Newtownabbey 3 Southern Armagh Banbridge Craigavon Dungannon and South Tyrone Newry and Mourne 4 Western Derry Fermanagh Limavady Omagh StrabaneReform editMain article Reform of local government in Northern Ireland In June 2002 the Northern Ireland Executive established a Review of Public Administration to review the arrangements for the accountability development administration and delivery of public services Among its recommendations were a reduction in the number of districts 14 In 2005 Peter Hain the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced proposals to reduce the number of councils to seven 15 The names and boundaries of the seven districts were announced in March 2007 16 In March 2008 the restored Northern Executive agreed to create eleven new councils instead of the original seven 17 18 The first elections were due to take place in May 2011 However by May 2010 disagreements among parties in the executive over district boundaries were expected to delay the reforms until 2015 19 In June 2010 the proposed reforms were abandoned following the failure of the Northern Ireland Executive to reach agreement 20 21 However on 12 March 2012 the Northern Ireland Executive published its programme for government which included a commitment to reduce the number of councils in Northern Ireland to 11 22 See also editList of districts in Northern Ireland by religion or religion brought up in List of districts in Northern Ireland by national identity Political make up of local councils in Northern Ireland Local government in England Local government in Scotland Local government in Wales Local government in the Republic of Ireland Tables relating to the old 26 council system edit List of districts in Northern Ireland by national identityNotes editReferences edit Mid Year Population Estimates UK June 2021 Office for National Statistics 21 December 2022 Retrieved 18 October 2023 Mid Year Population Estimates UK June 2021 Office for National Statistics 21 December 2022 Retrieved 18 October 2023 Mid Year Population Estimates UK June 2021 Office for National Statistics 21 December 2022 Retrieved 18 October 2023 Contact Us Causeway Coast amp Glens Borough Council Retrieved 19 March 2018 Council Meetings Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Contact Lisburn amp Castlereagh City Council Retrieved 19 March 2018 Schedule of Meetings PDF Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Archived from the original PDF on 4 April 2016 Retrieved 23 March 2016 Council Meetings 2016 Mid Ulster District Council Archived from the original on 19 March 2016 Retrieved 23 March 2016 Report of the Review Body on Local Government in Northern Ireland 1970 CAIN Web Service Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland University of Ulster Her Majesty s Stationery Office June 1970 Retrieved 16 September 2011 The Northern Ireland Lieutenancy Order 1975 S I 1975 No 156 Campbell officially launches a new era in libraries NI Libraries net 2 April 2009 Retrieved 23 July 2013 Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Education Authority Education Authority NI Health and Social Board Retrieved 19 March 2018 Review of Public Administration Northern Ireland Executive Retrieved 8 July 2010 dead link Major reform of local government BBC News 22 November 2005 Retrieved 19 March 2018 Revised Recommendations for new council boundaries unveiled Press Release Office of the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner 30 March 2007 Archived 7 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine NI councils reduced from 26 to 11 BBC News 13 March 2008 Retrieved 19 March 2018 Foster announces the future shape of local government NI Executive 13 March 2008 Archived 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Plan to cut Northern Ireland councils may be delayed until 2015 Belfast Telegraph 7 May 2010 Retrieved 24 May 2010 The executive fails to agree a deal on council reform BBC News 15 June 2010 Retrieved 8 July 2010 Local Government Association Incensed as Minister Stops the Reform Process Northern Ireland Local Government Association 15 June 2010 Archived from the original on 17 February 2011 Retrieved 8 July 2010 Priority 5 Delivering High Quality and Efficient Public Services Key Commitments PDF Programme for Government 2011 15 Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister 12 March 2012 Retrieved 15 June 2012 External links editLocal councils in Northern Ireland NI Direct Archived NI Local Government Association Review of Public Administration NI Local Government Boundaries Commissioner for Northern Ireland Archived Local Government DOE NI Archived Macrory Report CAIN Web Service University of Ulster Local Government Boundaries Act Northern Ireland 1971 CAIN Web Service University of Ulster Northern Ireland Councillor s Handbook Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland Archived Map of all UK local authorities Office for National Statistics 2009 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Local government in Northern Ireland amp oldid 1216288767, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
