Unitary Councils

Andrew Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities have (a) applied for and (b) been accepted for unitary status in each year since 1997.

Ms Rosie Winterton
Since 1997, 26 proposals for unitary structures were submitted in January 2007 following the Invitation to Councils in England issued in October 2006. A further Invitation for unitary structures in Bedfordshire was issued in November 2007 and one proposal was received in response to it. From these proposals, nine unitary councils were established on 1 April 2009, and orders creating a further two on 1 April 2011, Exeter and Ipswich, have now been made following their approval by Parliament.