Metropolitan borough facts for kids

A metropolitan borough is a special kind of local government area in England. These boroughs are found in big cities and their surrounding areas, which are called metropolitan counties. Think of them as the local councils that help run things in these large urban places.

How Were Metropolitan Boroughs Created?

The metropolitan boroughs we have today were first set up in 1974. This happened because of a law called the Local Government Act 1972. This law created new metropolitan counties to cover the six biggest city areas in England, not including Greater London.

Even though the law called them "metropolitan districts," all of them quickly gained the special title of a borough or even a city. These new metropolitan boroughs took the place of older types of local councils like county boroughs and urban districts.

In 1986, another law, the Local Government Act 1985, made big changes. The old metropolitan county councils were removed. Most of their jobs and powers were given directly to the metropolitan boroughs. This means that today, these boroughs act a lot like unitary authorities. A unitary authority is a single council that handles almost all local services in its area.

Some jobs that the old county councils used to do, like managing public transport, fire services, police, and waste disposal, are now handled by groups of boroughs working together.

Where Are Metropolitan Boroughs Located?

There are 36 metropolitan boroughs in England. They are spread across six metropolitan counties:

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