unitary authority

English

Noun

unitary authority (plural unitary authorities)

1. In local government, a single-tier authority which replaces a two-tier structure. For example, in England, county councils are abolished and their responsibilities are transferred to boroughs and local government districts (but this only applies to some counties, not all). In some cases complete counties, such as Cornwall and Northumberland, are now unitary authorities without any subdivision into local government districts.
   • 2023 February 8, Andrew Mourant, “A serious shuttle service with options to Taunton and beyond”, in RAIL, number 976, page 31:

     "The support of Somerset Council (currently in transition to becoming a unitary authority) will be crucial, as they are the statutory planning authority."

Synonyms

• unitary council

Translations

a single-tier local government system

• Cornish: awtorita udnik m, awtorita unnik m

References

• “unitary authority”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• Unitary authorities of England on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• List of unitary authorities of England on Wikipedia.Wikipedia