# Sourcing notes Field-by-field sourcing, known gaps and rebuild steps for every dataset. The site's "Sources and credits" pane summarises them. - [Devolution status, mayors and leaders — `data/areas.json`](#sources--dataareasjson) - [Authority budgets — `data/budgets.json`](#sources--databudgetsjson-added-2026-10-07) - [Powers — `powers` in `data/areas.json`](#sources--powers-in-dataareasjson-added-2026-10-07) - [Compare boundaries — `data/geo/`](#sources-compare-boundaries-geography-datageo-added-2026-10-07) - [Council control — `data/councils.json`](#council-control--datacouncilsjson-built-2026-10-12) - [Indicators — `data/indicators*.json`, `data/indicators.csv`](#indicators--dataindicatorsjson-indicators-detailjson-indicatorscsv-built-2026-10-12) - Mayoral election results and leader bios: sourced inside `data/election-results.json` (a Wikipedia link per result) and `data/mayor-and-leader-profiles-2026-09-11.md`. - Photos: `assets/mayors/SOURCES.md` (photographer and licence per image). --- # Sources — data/areas.json Rebuilt from scratch **2026-09-07**, after a data-quality report that East Midlands was wrongly shown as "in progress" with a contradictory "Established" tier badge, when it is in fact a live mayoral CCA with a mayor elected May 2024. Every field was checked against a primary source (gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk, or the authority's own `.gov.uk` site) on that date, unless noted otherwise below. Wikipedia was used only to locate candidate facts and find official URLs to verify — it is never cited as the source of a fact here. Where a fact could not be confirmed against an acceptable primary source, the field is `null` in `areas.json` and that is noted below rather than silently omitted. Legend: **L** = `formed` date / legal establishment, **C** = constituent authorities, **S** = status (live/in-progress), **M** = mayor/leader name+party+date, **T** = tier. --- ## Devolved nations ### Scotland - **L, S**: Scotland Act 1998; devolved government since 1 July 1999 (general knowledge, not re-fetched against a specific commencement order this session — low risk, no primary URL re-verified for this exact date). - **C**: https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-authority-maps-of-scotland/ — fetched 2026-09-07, lists all 32 council areas by name. - **M**: https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/first-minister/ and https://www.gov.scot/news/parliament-nominates-john-swinney-as-first-minister/ (via search, confirms John Swinney as First Minister, SNP, as of Sept 2026 press activity). Exact "since" date NOT independently re-confirmed this session — left `null`. ### Wales - **L, S**: Government of Wales Act 1998; devolved government since May 1999 (general knowledge, not re-fetched against a specific commencement order this session). - **C**: Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, Schedule 1 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/19/schedule/1 — fetched 2026-09-07. Note: the 1994 schedule uses original 1996-vesting names (e.g. "Cardiganshire", "Aberconwy and Colwyn"); several were renamed by later orders. Current names cross-checked against gov.wales-derived search results, not independently fetched from a single page listing current names — moderate confidence. - **M**: https://www.gov.wales/rhun-ap-iorwerth-ms — fetched 2026-09-07. Confirms: "On 12 May 2026 Rhun ap Iorwerth was appointed First Minister of Wales," Plaid Cymru. This is a change from the previous First Minister (Eluned Morgan, Labour) and was not assumed — found via live search specifically because the old file predated this change. ### Northern Ireland - **L, S**: Northern Ireland Act 1998; devolved government since 2 December 1999 (general knowledge, not re-fetched against a specific commencement order this session). - **C**: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/find-your-local-council — via search 2026-09-07, lists all 11 district councils by name. - **M**: https://www.northernireland.gov.uk/ — via search 2026-09-07. Confirms Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin) as First Minister and Emma Little-Pengelly (DUP) as deputy First Minister, both in post since the Executive was restored 3 February 2024, still serving per July 2026 press releases on that site. --- ## Greater London Authority - **L**: GLA Act 1999 commencement — The Greater London Authority Act 1999 (Commencement No. 5 and Appointment of Reconstitution Day) Order 2000, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/1094/contents/made — via search 2026-09-07, confirms 3 July 2000. - **C**: 33 London boroughs — carried from the previous file, not individually re-fetched this session (extremely low volatility; London borough boundaries have not changed). - **M**: https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/mayor-london/your-new-mayor-london (fetched 2026-09-07, confirms Sadiq Khan re-elected, but page text didn't state party or exact date) plus https://www.londonelects.org.uk/media-centre/london-re-elects-sadiq-khan-mayor-london and https://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/election-progress/results-2024/ (via search, confirm Labour and a 2 May 2024 election / 4 May 2024 declaration). - **T**: No primary source found placing the GLA within the Foundation/Mayoral/Established Mayoral framework — left `null` deliberately (see `_meta.methodologyNotes`). --- ## English combined authorities / combined county authorities For every authority below, the **formed date** and **constituent authorities** were verified directly against the establishing statutory instrument on legislation.gov.uk (fetched 2026-09-07, specific SI numbers given). This is the single most reliable primary source available and was prioritised over any other page for these two fields. | Authority | SI | Formed (confirmed) | Constituent councils (confirmed) | |---|---|---|---| | Greater Manchester | [SI 2011/908](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/908/made) | 1 Apr 2011 | Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan | | South Yorkshire | [SI 2014/863](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/863/made) | 1 Apr 2014 | Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield | | West Yorkshire | [SI 2014/864](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/864) | 1 Apr 2014 | Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield | | Liverpool City Region | [SI 2014/865](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/865/made) | 1 Apr 2014 | Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral | | Tees Valley | [SI 2016/449](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/449/made) | 1 Apr 2016 | Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees | | West Midlands | [SI 2016/653](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/653/made) + [art.1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/653/article/1/made) | 17 Jun 2016 (order made 16 Jun, "day after") | Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton | | West of England | [SI 2017/126](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/126/made) | 9 Feb 2017 | Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire | | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | [SI 2017/251](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/251) | 3 Mar 2017 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CC, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire, Peterborough, South Cambridgeshire | | York and North Yorkshire | [SI 2023/1432](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1432/contents) + [art.1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1432/article/1/made) | 20 Dec 2023 | North Yorkshire Council, City of York Council | | East Midlands | [SI 2024/232](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/232/made) | 28 Feb 2024 | Derby City, Derbyshire CC, Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire CC | | North East | [SI 2024/402](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/402/contents/made) + [art.1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/402/article/1/made) | 7 May 2024 | County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland | | Hull and East Yorkshire | [SI 2025/113](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/113) | 5 Feb 2025 | Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire | | Devon and Torbay | [SI 2025/115](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/115/contents) + [reg.1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/115/regulation/1/made) | 5 Feb 2025 | Devon CC, Torbay (councils corroborated via gov.uk "four devolution agreements" press release, not individually named in the regulation text excerpts fetched) | | Greater Lincolnshire | [SI 2025/117](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/117/contents) + [intro](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/117/introduction/made) | 5 Feb 2025 (mayoral Part 7 in force 6 May 2025) | Lincolnshire CC, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire | | Lancashire | [SI 2025/118](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/118/contents/made) + [intro](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/118/introduction/made) + [sch.1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/118/schedule/1/made) | 5 Feb 2025 | Lancashire CC, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool | | Cheshire and Warrington | [SI 2026/159](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/159/contents) + [intro](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/159/introduction/made) | 24 Feb 2026 (made 23 Feb) | Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington | | Cumbria | [SI 2026/158](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/158/contents) + [intro](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/158/introduction/made) | 24 Feb 2026 (made 23 Feb) | Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness | | Sussex and Brighton | [SI 2026/362](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/362/contents/made) + [intro](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/362/introduction/made) | 26 Mar 2026 (made 25 Mar) | Brighton and Hove, East Sussex CC, West Sussex CC | | Hampshire and the Solent | [SI 2026/595](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/595/made) | 4 Jun 2026 (made 3 Jun; mayoral Part 5 not in force until 8 May 2028) | Hampshire CC, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton | Note on Devon and Torbay's constituent list: the specific regulation clause naming its two councils was not visible in the fetched excerpt of Schedule 1 (which only describes membership *mechanics*, e.g. "each constituent council must appoint..."); the two-council list is corroborated instead by https://www.gov.uk/government/news/four-devolution-agreements-signed-off-and-others-progressing and Devon County Council's own devolution pages, both checked via search 2026-09-07. ### Current mayor / chair — name, party, date - **Greater Manchester**: Andy Burnham, Labour and Co-operative, re-elected 2 May 2024 (third term; first elected 2017). https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/who-we-are/gmca-members/andy-burnham-mayor (site blocked direct fetch, 403; confirmed via search results quoting manchester.gov.uk and gmelects.org.uk declared results) — checked 2026-09-07. - **Liverpool City Region**: Steve Rotheram, Labour, re-elected 2024 (third term; first elected 2017). https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/your-metro-mayor (403 on direct fetch; confirmed via search of that domain) — checked 2026-09-07. Exact 2024 declaration date not separately fetched; 2 May 2024 used as the common English mayoral election day. - **South Yorkshire**: Oliver Coppard, Labour and Co-operative, re-elected — term began 4 May 2024 per https://www.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/mayoral-election-2024-results (via search) and https://www.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/about-oliver-coppard (fetched directly) — checked 2026-09-07. - **West Yorkshire**: Tracy Brabin, re-elected May 2024 (first elected 2021). Fetched directly: https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/the-mayor/ — confirms name and re-election date but NOT party on that specific page; "Labour and Co-operative" corroborated via search of the same domain — checked 2026-09-07. - **West Midlands**: Richard Parker, Labour, elected 2 May 2024 (defeated Conservative incumbent Andy Street by 1,508 votes), took office 6 May 2024. Confirmed via search citing Wikipedia's sourced election-result figures cross-referenced against go.walsall.gov.uk election results page — checked 2026-09-07. - **Tees Valley**: Ben Houchen, Conservative, re-elected 2 May 2024 (third term). Confirmed via search of teesvalley-ca.gov.uk — checked 2026-09-07. - **West of England**: Helen Godwin, Labour, elected in a **by-election** 1 May 2025 (NOT the normal May 2024 round — previous mayor Dan Norris was suspended by the Labour Party in 2024). Confirmed via search of bristol.gov.uk / democracy.bristol.gov.uk — checked 2026-09-07. This is exactly the kind of non-obvious fact a stale/assumed dataset would get wrong. - **Cambridgeshire and Peterborough**: Paul Bristow, **Conservative**, elected 1 May 2025, gaining the seat from Labour incumbent Nik Johnson. Confirmed via search citing the 2025 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election result — checked 2026-09-07. Flag: easy to wrongly assume this stayed Labour. - **North East**: Kim McGuinness, Labour and Co-operative, elected 2 May 2024 (first-ever election for this merged authority, defeated independent Jamie Driscoll). Confirmed via search citing sunderland.gov.uk declaration-of-count documents — checked 2026-09-07. - **York and North Yorkshire**: David Skaith, Labour, elected 3 May 2024 (first-ever), took office 7 May 2024. Fetched directly: https://yorknorthyorks-ca.gov.uk/your-new-york-and-north-yorkshire-combined-authority-mayor-is-david-skaith/ (via search) — checked 2026-09-07. - **East Midlands**: Claire Margaret Ward, Labour and Co-operative Party, elected 2 May 2024 (first-ever), took office 7 May 2024 per SI 2024/232 Part 8 commencement. Fetched directly: https://www.eastmidlands-cca.gov.uk/election-results/ — checked 2026-09-07. **This is the specific fact the previous file had wrong** (shown as "in progress" with no mayor at all). - **Devon and Torbay** (chair, non-mayoral): Cllr David Thomas (Torbay Council). Fetched directly: https://www.devonandtorbay-cca.gov.uk/who-we-are/combined-county-authority-members/ — confirms name and council but not party/date on that page; Conservative affiliation corroborated via torbayconservatives.com and search of torbay.gov.uk — checked 2026-09-07. Exact start date as CCA chair: not found, left `null`. - **Greater Lincolnshire**: Andrea Jenkyns, Reform UK, elected 1 May 2025 (first-ever), term began 6 May 2025. Confirmed via search citing greaterlincolnshire-cca.gov.uk and little-hale.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk full result — checked 2026-09-07. - **Hull and East Yorkshire**: Luke Campbell, Reform UK, elected 2 May 2025 (first-ever), took office 6 May 2025. Confirmed via search citing hull.gov.uk news pages — checked 2026-09-07. - **Lancashire** (chair, non-mayoral): Stephen Atkinson, Reform UK, chair since 17 June 2025; also Leader of Lancashire County Council since 22 May 2025. Confirmed via search citing blogpreston.co.uk, reformlancashire.co.uk and news.lancashire.gov.uk — checked 2026-09-07. - **Cheshire and Warrington** (interim chair, no mayor yet): Cllr Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council since 21 May 2019. Fetched directly: https://cheshireandwarrington-ca.gov.uk/team/cllr-louise-gittins/ — confirms her as chair but not party or her start date as CA chair specifically; Labour affiliation corroborated via cwaclabour Facebook page and LGC — checked 2026-09-07. First mayoral election confirmed for May 2027 via https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rewiring-the-state-cabinet-statement/rewiring-the-state-cabinet-statement-html (fetched directly). - **Cumbria** (chair, no mayor yet): Mark Fryer, Labour, chair since 18 March 2026 (Leader of Cumberland Council). Confirmed via search citing cumberland.gov.uk and westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk news pages — checked 2026-09-07. First mayoral election: 6 May 2027 (candidates already declared per Wikipedia-sourced lead, not independently verified — used only to note the fact that candidates exist, not cited as a fact source). - **Sussex and Brighton** (chair, no mayor yet): **NOT confirmed.** Multiple searches of sussexandbrighton-cca.gov.uk, brighton-hove.gov.uk and eastsussex.gov.uk confirm the three candidate council leaders (Bella Sankey Lab, Keith Glazier Con, Paul Marshall Con) and that a chair was to be appointed at the 15 April 2026 inaugural meeting, but no source found states who was actually appointed. Left as an empty `currentLeader` array rather than guessed — checked 2026-09-07. - **Hampshire and the Solent** (chair, no mayor yet): Cllr Nick Adams-King, Conservative, Leader of Hampshire County Council since 23 May 2024 (re-elected 21 May 2026), chairs the CCA board. Confirmed via search citing democracy.hants.gov.uk and local press (Petersfield Post / Liphook Herald / Alton Herald / Farnham Herald all running the same syndicated piece) — checked 2026-09-07. Exact start date as CCA chair: not found, left `null`. First mayoral election confirmed pushed to May 2028 directly from SI 2026/595 itself. --- ## Tier (Foundation / Mayoral / Established Mayoral) Primary source: gov.uk "Rewiring the State – Cabinet Statement" (31 July 2026), https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rewiring-the-state-cabinet-statement/rewiring-the-state-cabinet-statement-html — fetched directly 2026-09-07. Exact quote: *"In line with the existing designation criteria, we have also conferred established mayoral strategic authority status to four further areas: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, East Midlands, West of England, and York and North Yorkshire."* This is the ONLY primary source found this session that assigns tier to specific named authorities. It was used to set `tier: "Established Mayoral"` for exactly those four. Every other live English authority has `tier: null` in `areas.json` — including long-standing mayoralties (Greater Manchester, West Midlands, etc.) that are very likely already Established Mayoral in practice (the statement's own wording, "four *further* areas", implies others already held that status), but since no source individually confirms which ones, asserting a value would be a guess. **This is a deliberate, conservative choice: a null tier is preferred over a plausible-but-unverified one**, precisely because the bug this rebuild was commissioned to fix was a false/contradictory tier value. --- ## In-progress / not-yet-established areas - **Greater Essex**: NOT legally established. Confirmed directly on https://www.essex.gov.uk/about-council/plans-and-strategies/our-vision-essex/devolution (fetched 2026-09-07): "the authority itself has not yet been formally created — it's expected to be established in 2026." Mayoral election pushed from May 2026 to May 2028. Constituent councils (Essex CC, Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock) confirmed on the same page. - **Norfolk and Suffolk**: NOT legally established. Confirmed directly on https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/norfolk-and-suffolk-devolution/outcome/norfolk-and-suffolk-devolution-consultation-response (fetched 2026-09-07): government had "not yet made a final decision"; CCA "has not been established yet," pending parliamentary approval. Mayoral election pushed from May 2026 to May 2028. - **Cornwall** (NEW — not in the previous file): Cornwall Council's Cabinet agreed 29 July 2026 to become a single Foundation Strategic Authority (no new combined body, no mayor). Confirmed directly on https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-news/council-budgets-and-economy/cabinet-agrees-to-new-government-devolution-proposals-for-cornwall/ (fetched 2026-09-07). No statutory instrument identified yet, so treated as in-progress. ### Areas deliberately excluded (too early-stage for a defined status/constituent list) Checked this session and found to be at proposal/discussion stage only, without a firm deal or confirmed composition: Surrey (single-authority AEB deal only signed; a separate Surrey Combined Authority is only at internal MHCLG discussion stage as of July 2026 per Local Government Chronicle), Leicestershire/Leicester/Rutland, Heart of Wessex (Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, BCP), South Midlands, Three Counties, Thames Valley. Source: search of "Devolution Priority Programme" coverage and local-gov.uk devolution pages, 2026-09-07. --- ## Known gaps (left `null` rather than guessed) - Scotland & Wales First Ministers' exact "since" dates (Wales's is filled in; Scotland's is not — Swinney's confirmed-in-office status was found but not his start date). - Sussex and Brighton's current chair (name entirely unconfirmed). - Exact "since" dates for the Devon and Torbay, Cheshire and Warrington, and Hampshire and the Solent chairs (all confirmed as the current post-holder, but not the date they took that specific chair role, as distinct from their underlying council leadership date). - Party affiliation was not stated on several authorities' own "meet the mayor" pages (West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, South Yorkshire) — corroborated instead via a second official-domain source in each case; see individual entries above. - Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater London and GLA headquarters "tier" left null (see Tier section) — not a gap so much as a deliberate scope limit of the one primary source found. --- ## No-deal areas (added 2026-09-07, national-view rebuild) 36 English counties/unitary authorities were added with `status: "no-deal"` so every part of the base map has a matching area record — the map's own visual language now requires every region to be filled and named, not just the ones with an active deal. These are not separately re-researched: they are exactly the set of English local authorities that fall outside the 26 areas above, cross-checked against this file's own "Areas deliberately not included" list (Leicestershire/Rutland, Surrey, the constituent counties of Heart of Wessex/Three Counties/Thames Valley/South Midlands, etc.) plus every remaining unclaimed county/unitary path in `assets/uk-map.svg`. If a devolution deal is later announced for one of these, move its record out of the no-deal set rather than leaving a stale duplicate. Two base-map path quirks handled while building this set: - **Isle of Wight** exists as two separate paths in the source SVG — an old ungrouped one and the one actually used inside the Hampshire and the Solent group. The old one is a geometric duplicate (near-identical starting coordinates) and was excluded rather than rendered twice. - **North Somerset** exists as two separate paths (`North-Somerset` and `North_Somerset`, differently hyphenated) and **Bournemouth/Poole** as two paths for what is since 2019 one unitary authority (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) — both pairs are listed as a single area record with two `svgTargets` rather than two separate (and in BCP's case, factually outdated) records. Excluded entirely (not part of the UK, so not filled or labelled): the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland, both present in the base map as background/context landmasses. --- # Sources — data/budgets.json (added 2026-10-07) Each authority's **own** 2026/27 revenue budget and capital programme, taken from its budget papers or, where those couldn't be retrieved, from the authority's own announcement of the approved budget. Definitions differ between authorities (police, fire and transport executives may be in or out), so each entry's `note` says what the figure covers. Where an authority splits revenue across several budgets (e.g. GMCA General / Transport / Waste), the parts are listed as `components` and **not** summed, because levies and recharges overlap. Per-entry source URLs live in the JSON itself. Many authorities' moderngov sites (LCR, South Yorkshire, WMCA, West of England, YNY) sit behind a Cloudflare bot check, so those papers couldn't be fetched automatically. That is why several entries rely on announcements or have `null` figures. ## Known gaps (left `null` / omitted rather than guessed) - **West Midlands**: 2026/27 consolidated budget approved 13 Feb 2026 (£2.3bn capital over 2026/27–2029/30), but the single-year revenue and capital figures aren't sourced yet. - **Liverpool City Region**: capital programme (CA meeting 6 Mar 2026) not yet sourced. - **South Yorkshire**: only the ~£963m combined total (Board, 24 Mar 2026); split not sourced. - **Greater London**: only the £22.7bn GLA Group total (draft, Jan 2026); split not sourced. - **North East, Tees Valley**: draft figures only; the final Feb/Mar 2026 budgets are not yet reflected. - **Not yet researched or not found**: West of England, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Greater Lincolnshire. Newer authorities (Lancashire, Devon & Torbay, Cheshire & Warrington, Cumbria, Sussex & Brighton, Hampshire & Solent) had no published 2026/27 budget totals; for these, only government investment-fund allocations were found, and those answer a different question. --- # Sources — `powers` in data/areas.json (added 2026-10-07) Policing, fire and transport for the 20 live English MSAs. - **Policing and fire:** Commons Library briefing SN06104, *Police and crime commissioners* (14 July 2026). It confirms that mayors hold PCC functions only in Greater Manchester (2017), West Yorkshire (2021), York & North Yorkshire (2024), South Yorkshire (2024) and London (MOPAC). West Midlands still has a PCC. Mayors hold fire functions only in Greater Manchester and York & North Yorkshire, plus London through the London Fire Commissioner. PCCs are to be abolished in May 2028; the legislation has not been introduced yet. - **Transport:** bus franchising dates come from authority and trade-press reports (Route One, LCRCA/ITV for Liverpool's 6 Sep 2026 launch, SYMCA for 5 Sep 2027, NECA consultation 6 Jul–28 Sep 2026). Local transport authority dates for the newer CCAs come from each authority's own announcements. ## Known gaps - Bus approach not confirmed: York & North Yorkshire, East Midlands, Hull & East Yorkshire, Greater Lincolnshire, Devon & Torbay, Cheshire & Warrington, Cumbria, Sussex & Brighton, Hampshire & Solent. - Cumbria: local transport authority status not confirmed. - Tees Valley: the "franchising not pursued" finding rests on older reporting; re-check it. --- # Sources: Compare boundaries geography (`data/geo/`, added 2026-10-07) Built by `scripts/geo/build_boundaries.py`; rebuild steps are in `scripts/geo/README.md`. | Layer | Source (ONS Open Geography Portal unless stated) | Vintage | |---|---|---| | Base geometry | `Local_Authority_Districts_May_2026_Boundaries_UK_BGC`, England and Wales | May 2026 | | Police force areas | `LAD25_CSP25_PFA25_EW_LU` | Dec 2025. All 318 England/Wales LAD codes match the May 2026 set exactly, so there is no vintage mismatch | | ICBs and NHS England regions | `LSOA21_SICBL26_ICB26_NHSER26_LAD26` | April 2026: 36 ICBs after the first round of mergers, 7 regions. More mergers take effect in April 2027; re-run then | | ICB lines inside split councils | `Lower_layer_Super_Output_Areas_December_2021_Boundaries_EW_BGC_V5` (only the 1,113 LSOAs in split councils) | Dec 2021 LSOAs | | DfE regions | `WD26_LAD26_CTYUA26_RGN26_CTRY26_UK_LU` | 2026. DfE's Regions Group uses the nine English regions; e.g. its North West director covers the North West region's councils | | Jobcentre Plus districts | DWP, *JCP Districts mapped to LAs*, FOI response 28 Feb 2019 (WhatDoTheyKnow request "Jobcentre Plus District") | Matches Nomis "JCP district as of April 2019" (37 districts) | | Jobcentre Plus groups | Nomis geography TYPE83 "jobcentre plus group as of April 2019", district → group | April 2019 | | Strategic authorities | `data/areas.json` constituent councils → LAD codes in `scripts/geo/msa_lad.csv` (county councils expanded to their districts) | Current | ## Nesting report: councils an ICB boundary cuts through Each is split along the ICB line, using LSOAs: - **Buckinghamshire:** Central East / Thames Valley. - **Cumberland:** Lancashire and South Cumbria / North East and North Cumbria. - **Westmorland and Furness:** Lancashire and South Cumbria / North East and North Cumbria. - **North Yorkshire:** Lancashire and South Cumbria / Humber and North Yorkshire / West Yorkshire. - **Vale of White Horse:** BSW / Thames Valley. This is why Cumbria and York & North Yorkshire *straddle* ICBs, and why West Yorkshire sits *inside* the West Yorkshire ICB rather than matching it exactly (the ICB also covers Craven). ## Jobcentre Plus caveats - **Old structure.** The newest published council-level JCP mapping is from 2019. The Nomis April 2019 hierarchy is still current on Nomis, but DWP hasn't republished the district → council list since. Councils merged since 2019 (Dorset/BCP, Suffolk, Somerset, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire) are mapped to their 2026 successors. - **Councils DWP lists under more than one district.** Each is drawn in one district, and the dual listing is recorded in `fit.json` notes. The rule: the majority of listings; on a tie, the district holding most of the same county's other councils; Wiltshire's tie is settled by where its jobcentres are. The councils affected are Central Bedfordshire, Three Rivers, Dacorum, Runnymede, Surrey Heath, West Northamptonshire, Basingstoke and Deane, Wiltshire, Cotswold, Dorset and North Yorkshire. - **Missing from the FOI district list.** These are placed by the district of their jobcentres in the same FOI release: Herefordshire (Mercia); Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin (Midland Shires / Staffordshire and Derbyshire); Swindon (Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire & IOW); Folkestone and Hythe (Kent). - **Isles of Scilly.** It has no jobcentre in either document, so it's left unassigned. ## Council control — data/councils.json (built 2026-10-12) - **Seats**: Open Council Data UK, 2026 latest composition (https://opencouncildata.co.uk/councils.php?y=2026), CC BY-SA 4.0. Its `Oth` column (independents and small parties, e.g. Restore Britain in Kent) is shown as "Independent / other". Control is computed from seats (a party with a majority, else no overall control), not from OCD's administration label. - **Leaders**: each council's Wikipedia infobox — an exception to this file's usual primary-source rule, because 158 councils can't be verified by hand on each rebuild. Hand-checked overrides (in `scripts/councils/build_councils.py`, each with its source): Darlington (Stephen Harker), Hartlepool (Dave Bruce, from 15 Sep 2026), Fenland (Chris Boden; third-party listing only), East Cambridgeshire (Anna Bailey), South Cambridgeshire (Bridget Smith), Isles of Scilly (chairman Joel Williams; no leader post), Oldham (vacant since May 2026). - **Checked and left as-is**: Isle of Wight — OCD labels it a Reform minority, but the leader is independent Jonathan Bacon, elected with Reform votes (onthewight.com, May 2026). City of London — Policy Chairman Chris Hayward (cityoflondon.gov.uk), shown in place of a leader. - **Map shapes**: Northamptonshire is one shape for two unitaries (coloured by North Northamptonshire; both are shown on click). Each Cambridgeshire district also shows Cambridgeshire County Council beneath it. ## Indicators — data/indicators.json, indicators-detail.json, indicators.csv (built 2026-10-12) Built by `scripts/indicators/build_indicators.py`. Every figure is summed from local authority districts (May 2026 codes) to areas via one LAD → area lookup (`scripts/geo/msa_lad.csv` for strategic authorities; ONS May 2026 LAD/county lookup for everything else). All 361 UK districts map to exactly one of the 62 areas; population sums to the UK total. - **Population**: ONS mid-year estimates, mid-2015 and mid-2025, via Nomis (NM_2002_1). - **GDP, GVA, GDP per head, real GDP growth 2014–2024**: ONS Regional GDP by local authority, 1998–2024 edition. ONS has suppressed 51 districts in this edition (ITL25 conversion error), so **West of England, North Somerset, Somerset, Dorset, BCP, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Swindon have no GDP figures** (`gdp_suppressed: true`). Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the UK/England benchmarks use the ITL workbook's country rows, which are unaffected. Real growth sums chained-volume GDP across districts (not strictly additive), and it swings a lot for small unitaries, e.g. Wokingham +64%, Bracknell Forest −9%. - **Census 2021** (England and Wales, 14 topic summary tables via Nomis): 18 derived indicators plus full category counts per area. Scotland and Northern Ireland only have born outside the UK: Scotland 10.2% (NRS, Census 2022); Northern Ireland 8.7% (NISRA MS-A16, Census 2021; Republic of Ireland counts as outside the UK). - **Checked against published figures**: London 40.6% and England & Wales 16.8% born outside the UK, and England & Wales 33.8% Level 4+, all match ONS's own releases.