Since 1 April 1996, Wales has been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas (), styled as counties or county boroughs ( or ) for local government purposes. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environmental protection, and most highways. Below these there are also (in most, but not all, parts of the principal areas) elected community councils to which responsibility for specific aspects of the application of local policy may be devolved. The last set of local elections in Wales took place in 2022, with the next due to take place in 2027.
The monarch appoints a lord lieutenant as a representative in each of the eight preserved counties of Wales, which are combinations of principal areas retained for ceremonial purposes.
Subdivisions of Wales created for such purposes as the organisation of the National Health Service and the provision of police and emergency services are made up of combinations of principal areas. For example, the Dyfed–Powys Police force operates in the area covered by the principal areas of Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, and Carmarthenshire as well as in Powys – the former three constituting the preserved county of Dyfed.
Principal areas
There are 22 principal areas in Wales. They came into being on 1 April 1996 by virtue of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (1994 c. 19). Eleven are counties, including the cities of Cardiff and Swansea, and eleven are county boroughs (marked †), including the cities of Newport and Wrexham.
Locations of each council headquarters are indicated by yellow markers.
Name changes
The current names of certain unitary authority areas are different from those specified in the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. The following changes took place, all with effect from 2 April 1996:
Conwy from Aberconwy and Colwyn
Isle of Anglesey from Anglesey
Gwynedd from Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire
Ceredigion from Cardiganshire
Neath Port Talbot from Neath and Port Talbot
Governance
Like councils throughout the UK, Welsh councils are made up of elected councillors. Exceptionally, because of political in-fighting and a history of poor performance, the executive functions of the Isle of Anglesey Council were temporarily taken over by commissioners appointed by the Welsh Government. Elections planned for 2012 were delayed until 2013.
Local government elections normally take place every four years, though the Wales Act 2017 prevented local government elections from taking place in the same year as elections to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). Hence the Local Authorities (Change to the Year of Ordinary Elections (Wales) Order 2019 postponed the date of the May 2021 local elections to May 2022.
Preserved counties of Wales
For ceremonial purposes of Lieutenancy and Shrievalty, Wales is divided into eight preserved counties. These were based on the counties (created by the Local Government Act 1972) which were used for local government and other purposes between 1974 and 1996.
Historic counties of Wales
The historic counties of Wales are ancient subdivisions of Wales, used for various functions for several hundred years. Pembrokeshire was formed as a county palatine in 1138. In the south east, Norman advancement led to the creation of marcher lordships, such as Glamorgan, which served as semi-autonomous administrative divisions, although these were not counties in the true sense as they lacked the formal structure. Some towns within these areas did, however, receive charters which outlined rights and duties in much the same way as a borough. Counties in the strict sense first appeared with the establishment of Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire in the 1240s. In 1284 the Principality of Gwynedd was divided into three counties: Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire. Before the end of the century, Flintshire had also become a county, and thus nearly half the territory of Wales was under the rule of the English Crown. While the arrangement did not officially bring the marcher lordships in the South directly under the King's control, many such lordships were held by the King personally, although some remained under the semi-autonomous control of powerful local families. The formation of counties was completed under the Laws in Wales Act 1535, which created Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire, Radnorshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire, many from existing marcher lordships now recreated as counties proper.