Reform of local government in Northern Ireland

On 22 November 2005 Peter Hain, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced proposals to reduce the number of councils to seven.

Initial reaction from Northern Ireland's political parties, except for Sinn Féin, was hostile, emphasising the reduction in local representation and frequently expressing a fear that the region would be carved up on sectarian lines.

[12][13] On 13 March 2008 the Executive agreed on proposals brought forward by Environment Minister Arlene Foster to create 11 new councils instead of the original 7.

[19] In May 2010 it emerged that the process of bringing the new authorities into existence was likely to be delayed, due to the failure of members of the Northern Ireland Executive to agree on boundaries for district electoral areas.

Edwin Poots, Northern Ireland Minister of the Environment, opposed the extension of Belfast, while Sinn Féin members of the executive favoured it.

The Northern Ireland Office made it clear that unless the dispute was speedily resolved, elections due in May 2011 would be to the existing 26 district councils.

[20] A decision to delay changes until 2015 was expected to be announced on 13 May 2010, but was postponed, reportedly due to disagreements between Poots and Sammy Wilson, the Executive's Minister of Finance and Personnel.

[21] On 15 June 2010, the proposed reforms were abandoned following the failure of the Northern Ireland Executive to obtain cross community support.

[24] Under "Priority 5: Delivering High Quality and Efficient Public Services", one commitment was "Establish the new 11 council model for Local Government by 2015", under the responsibility of the Department of the Environment.