" "preserved county" means any county created by this Act as a county in Wales, as that county stood immediately before the passing of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 but subject to any provision of the Act 91'1994, or any provision made under this Act, redrawing its boundaries."

2.19 The areas of the preserved counties are set out in Part III of Schedule 4 of the amended LGA 1972. The preserved counties of Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd and West Glamorgan are identical to the areas of the "counties" of the LGA 1972 as they existed immediately before the passing of the LG(W)A 1994. The preserved counties of Clwyd, Powys, South Glamorgan and Mid Glamorgan differ slightly from the areas of the "counties" of the LGA 1972 as they existed immediately before the passing of the LG(W)A 1994: several communities lie in the preserved county of Clwyd which had lain in the "county" of Powys; and several communities lie in the preserved county of South Glamorgan which had lain in the "county"' of Mid Glamorgan.

2.20 The LG(W)A 1994 also established the purposes for which the preserved counties were to be the relevant areas. Section 61 established them as the basis of the Lieutenancies of Wales. Section 62 established them as the basis of the Sheriffs' areas. Schedule 2 provided for the application of certain other miscellaneous enactments in relation to the preserved counties. Further legislation has superceded some of the provisions made by the LG(W)A 1994. In Appendix A we review those areas of legislation which were relevant at the time of the passing of the LG(W)A 1994 and highlight those types of administration for which the preserved counties are still relevant. We conclude that the only major forms of public administration for which the preserved counties are still relevant are the offices of Lord-Lieutenant and Sheriff.

2.21 The office of Lord-Lieutenant was created in 1547 to take control over the military forces of the Crown in the County. During the reign of William and Mary the office of Lord Lieutenant was combined with the older office of Custos Rotulorum (Keeper of the Rolls). The Custos Rotulorum was the Justice of the Peace who was picked to serve as the Chief of the County Bench. The tying together of these offices had the effect of making the Lord Lieutenant the senior seat on the Bench of Magistrates for the County. Whilst the Lord-Lieutenant no longer has any practical military duties, an Order in Council in 1908 made the office of Lord-Lieutenant the prime Office under the Crown as the Sovereign's personal representative in each County. The Lord-Lieutenant is therefore the senior constitutional figure in each preserved county and, when acting in this official capacity, takes precedent over all others. The Lord-Lieutenants are appointed by Her Majesty for an indefinite period (although they have to retire at 75 years of age). The post is non-paid. To assist him/her in these duties the Lord Lieutenant appoints a number of Deputy Lieutenants. A Vice Lieutenant is appointed from among the Deputy Lieutenants. The principal current duties of the Lord-Lieutenants of Wales are

1. Arranging visits by members of the Royal Family and escorting Royal visitors as appropriate.
2. Presentation of Awards and Medals on behalf of Her Majesty and, as appropriate, validation and submission of nominees for such Awards in liaison with the Wales Office and the National Assembly for Wales.
3. Leadership of the local Magistracy as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace (and their appointment) in liaison with the Lord Chancellors Department.
4. The duties of "the Keeper of the Rolls" (Custos Rotulorum) for the preserved county.
5. Liaison with, and support of, local regular and irregular territorial units of the Armed Forces within the preserved county.
6. The encouragement of a wide range of civic and voluntary service activities within the preserved county.

2.22 The Sheriff is the Sovereign's representative in the preserved county for all matters relating to the Judiciary and the maintenance of law and order. The Shrievalty is the oldest secular office after the Crown. The Sheriff takes precedence in the preserved county immediately after the Lord Lieutenant. The precise origins of the office are unknown but the Sheriff was an important office in England prior to the Norman conquest. The office of Sheriff was first introduced into parts of Wales in the thirteenth century following the creation of the counties of Merioneth, Caernarfonshire and Anglesey. It was fully established throughout all the Counties of Wales by the Laws in Wales Act 1535. The Sheriffs' duties embraced every aspect of local government from the collecting of the royal dues to the policing of the shire and the executing of the decisions of the courts. Subsequently, the Sheriff has ceded many of these responsibilities to a variety of other bodies: Lord-Lieutenants, High Court Judges, magistrates, local authorities and the Inland Revenue. The Sheriff of each preserved county is appointed by the Her Majesty in April for a 1 year term. The present duties of the Sheriffs are:

1. Attendance at Royal visits to the preserved county.

2. The well being and protection of Her Majesty's High Court Judges when on circuit in the preserved county and attending them in Court during the legal terms.

3. The execution of High Court Writs and Orders.

4. Responsibility for the proclamation of the accession of a new Sovereign.

5. The maintenance of the loyalty of subjects to the Crown.

2.23 The general responsibility for the maintenance of law and order and the specific responsibility for the protection of High Court judges are delegated to the police. Note that there is no need for a Sheriffs' area to coincide with a police area. Since every Sheriff in England and Wales delegates these duties to the police, each police force assumes these responsibilities for its whole area.

2.24 The main practical legal duty in which the Sheriff is still involved is the issuing of High Court Writs and Orders. To undertake this task the Sheriff is obliged to appoint an Under Sheriff. The areas covered by the Under Sheriffs are known as Bailiwicks. These areas are not co-terminous with the preserved counties. There are 14 bailiwicks in Wales. They are based upon the 13 historic counties (with the bailiwick for Swansea being separate from that of the rest of Glamorgan).

2.25 The Sheriff also attends the Crown Court whenever a High Court Judge is present and provides general hospitality to such Judges. Sheriffs typically also involve themselves in a great deal of community work within their area.

2.26 Given these functions there is no need for the Lord-Lieutenants and Sheriffs' areas to coincide with local government areas. The traditional Counties, either singly or in groups, are the obvious choice for the basis of these offices.

A general-purpose geography for Wales?

2.27 The interests of efficiency and public accountability require that the geographical organization of the major forms of public administration (i.e. of local government, the police, fire and health services and the judicial system) are understood by the public. However, such administrative geographies tend to be unsuitable for more general purposes. In particular the modern trend to try to use local government areas as basis for general-purpose geography has many drawbacks. Local government names and areas are forever changing. We cannot be expected to re-learn our whole notion of "where places are" every twenty years or so. The present local government areas of Wales are particularly unsuitable for this purpose since many of them borrow the name of a town or city within them.

2.28 We currently live in a state of "geographical confusion" in Wales. Three separate geographies contend for the use of map-makers, publishers the media etc. The present local government principal areas are used by some as a general-purpose geographical framework despite their obvious unsuitability for this purpose. The preserved counties also continue to be widely used. However, as the submission of the Wales Association of Community and Town Councils noted, the people of Wales actually still tend to relate to the geography of the 13 historic Counties.

2.29 Clearly, Wales needs a fixed geography for general purposes: one divorced from the very changing names and areas of local government but, instead, one rooted in history, tradition and commonly held notions of community and identity. The 13 historic Counties are the only choice for such a geography. We note that the 6 Counties of Northern Ireland have no role in local government but are used by everyone as the basis of its geography.

3. The Terms of Reference of the Review of the Preserved Counties

3.1 The terms of reference for the review are to be found in Section 54(lA) of the LGA 1972: "The Welsh Commission may, in consequence of a review conducted by them under this Part of this Act make proposals to the National Assembly for Wales for effecting changes in the area of a preserved county which appear to the Commission to be desirable having regard, in particular, to the purposes. for which the preserved counties are retained."

3.2 We note with some concern that the last sentence of Section 1.3 of the Commission's Guidance Note to the Review of the Preserved Counties says in relation to the review:

"In consequence of such a review, the Commission may make proposals to the National Assembly for Wales for effecting changes appearing to the Commission desirable in the interests of effective and convenient local government."

3.3 This wording does not correspond with the purpose of a review of the preserved counties as laid down in Section 54(lA) of the LGA 1972. Local government is not one of the purposes for which the preserved counties are retained. The main consideration of the Commission in this review should not be the interests of effective and convenient local government. The main purpose of the preserved counties is as the basis for the Lieutenancy and Sheriffs' areas of Wales. Hence, in having regard to the purposes for which the preserved counties, the central issue to be addressed is whether amendments to the preserved counties could produce a set of areas more appropriate for these purposes. To determine this, there are three broad aspects which need to be considered:

1. Would any amendments to the preserved counties enable the Lord Lieutenants and Sheriffs to perform their duties more effectively? There are many factors to be considered here. Does the public understand the present geographical organisation of the offices? Do the present arrangements confer sufficient status on these important constitutional offices? Do the present arrangements enable the officers to obtain a sufficiently high profile and standing within the communities they serve? Do the present areas suit the needs of each specific function of the offices? Do the present areas maintain the history and heritage of these offices?

2. What effect would any amendments to the preserved counties have on the identities of the historic Counties and their role in the national life? The long association of the offices of Lord-Lieutenant and Sheriff with the historic Counties has meant that these offices have become closely linked in the public mind with the whole notion of what a "county" is. Whilst not technically correct, many regard a Lieutenancy or Sheriffs' area as a de-facto definition of what a "county" is. The removal of the offices of Lord-Lieutenant and Sheriff from the historic Counties in 1974 has undermined to a significant extent the identities of the historic Counties. Any further changes to the areas of the preserved counties will impact (favourably or adversely) on the public perception of what a "county" is and, hence, on the role of the historic Counties in the national life. This should form an important consideration of the review.

3. What effect would any amendments to the preserved counties have on the current state of "geographical confusion " in Wales? As noted in Section 1, the various administrative geographies of Wales do not form a useful general-purpose geography for Wales. The fact that some sections of the media and the publishing world still use the preserved counties for general-purpose geography means that the effect that any change in the preserved counties would have on the general state of popular geography in Wales should be an important consideration of the Review.

4. ABC's Comments on the Commission's Draft Proposals

4.1 The Commission has made 3 Draft Proposals:

1. a minor change to the boundary between the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan to reflect the recent change to the boundary between the principal areas of Rhondda Cynon Taff and The Vale of Glamorgan.

2. a change to the boundary between the preserved counties of Clwyd and Gwynedd so as to include the whole of the principal area of Conwy within the preserved county of Clwyd.

3. a change to the boundary between the preserved counties of Gwent and Mid Glamorgan so as to include the whole of the principal area of Caerphilly within the preserved county of Gwent.

4.2 ABC disagrees with all three of the Draft Proposals.

4.3 The main consideration of the review should be whether any changes in the areas of the preserved counties are desirable in order to produce a more appropriate set of areas for the offices of the Lord-Lieutenants and Sheriffs. Instead, the Commission's guiding philosophy seems to be that expressed in Section 5.2 of the Draft Proposals report:

"We have considered the relationship between preserved county and unitary authority boundaries and have taken note of the comments made in respect of this relationship in the representations received. We are of the view that, wherever possible, preserved county boundaries should be aligned with unitary authority boundaries as this has benefits in terms of the identification and administration of preserved counties."

4.4 ABC disagrees with this approach. Local government is not one of the functions for which the preserved counties are retained. The boundaries of the principal areas should, therefore, be at most a secondary consideration of the review process. However, the Commission's main aim seems to be align all of the preserved county boundaries with those of principal areas. It does not attempt to substantiate its claim that this will have benefits in terms of the identification and administration of preserved counties. It does not make clear what these alleged benefits are.

4.5 ABC does not accept that there are any significant benefits (in terms of the identification and administration of preserved counties) in aligning the boundaries of the preserved counties with those of principal areas. We note that there is an almost complete separation of Lieutenancy areas in Scotland and Northern Ireland from those of local government. We also note that the representation from the Clerk to the Lieutenancy of Mid Glamorgan pointed out that the division of the Caerphilly principal area between two Lieutenancy areas had not in practice given rise to any special problems from the perspective of the Mid Glamorgan Lieutenancy. Neither the Lord Lieutenant of Gwynedd nor the Lord-Lieutenant of Clwyd made a representation seeking an end to the division of the Conwy principal area between their Lieutenancies.

4.6 The Commission's case for seeking to include the whole of the Caerphilly principal area in the preserved county of Gwent (paragraph 5.10 of the Draft Proposals report) seeks to justify this by reference to the local government, police and health authorities areas. Local government, the police service and the health service are not functions for which the preserved counties exist. It is totally wrong to try to justify a change in preserved county boundaries by appealing to the current areas of these particular administrative functions. The Commission's rationale for proposing the inclusion of the whole of the Conwy principal area in the preserved county of Clwyd (Section 5.7 of the Draft Proposals report) is even weaker. Here the Commission tries to argue that the basing of an NHS Trust on the combined area of the principal areas of Conwy and Denbighshire is a reason for amending the areas of the preserved counties!

5. ABC's Proposal for the Preserved Counties

5.1 As an alternative to the Commission's Draft Proposals, ABC proposes that the areas of the preserved counties should be amended so that a preserved county is based on each of the 13 historic Counties of Wales.

5.2 We describe the advantages of our proposal compared to the Commission's Draft Proposals in terms of the factors relevant to the review as discussed in Section 3.

Advantages of ABC's proposal to the office of Lord-Lieutenant

5.3 The historic counties form a fixed geographical framework widely understood by the people of Wales.

Any form of public administration needs to be based on a geographical framework that is easily understood by the people it seeks to serve. The Commission's proposed geography for the Lieutenancies will not meet this requirement. It is highly debatable that the geography of the local government principal areas of Wales is well understood by the people of Wales. The Commission's approach is to seek to build the Lieutenancies from groups of these principal areas. These Lieutenancies are then to bear the name of one of the local government "counties" as existed from 1974-1996. These names are already fading from public memory, not unsurprisingly since they generally had no historical or cultural significance. Even those who retain an understanding of the 1972-1996 local government geography will find this of limited use since, whilst continuing to bear these names, the Lieutenancies will not necessarily have the same areas.

5.4 In contrast the geography of the 13 historic Counties of Wales is well understood by most in Wales and held in affection by many. Basing the Lieutenancies upon the historic Counties would make the geographical basis of these offices clear to all. Furthermore a return of the lieutenancies to the traditional Counties will mean that the areas of the Lieutenancies can remain fixed throughout future changes to local government areas. The lesson of the last 30 years is that local government is subject to frequent, often major change. If, as the Commission proposes, the Lieutenancies are tied to local government areas, then the Lieutenancy areas will have to follow this pattern of frequent change. This is neither necessary nor desirable. There are obvious advantages to the office of Lord-Lieutenant in terms of administration and identification of having a fixed area.

5.5 The profile of Lord-Lieutenant and the esteem in which the office is held by the public will be improved by basing it upon the historic Counties.

Even assuming that the public could understand the geographical framework on which the Commission proposes the Lieutenancies be based, these areas would still carry little historic or cultural significance. This can only have a detrimental effect on the public profile of the Lord-Lieutenant and on the esteem in which he/she is held by the communities he/she serves. In contrast, the historic Counties of Wales are continuing historical, geographical and cultural entities. The association of the Office of Lord-Lieutenant with an historic County will significantly increase the profile of the officer who would then be seen as serving a real community rather than an arbitrary, shifting, administrative area. This will inevitably assist the Lord-Lieutenant's work.

5.6 The constitutional importance of the Lord-Lieutenants dictates that they should be appointed to areas of historical and cultural significance

It is surely incongruous that such a senior constitutional figure as the Lord-Lieutenant should serve an area with no historic and cultural significance, made up from an arbitrary combination of local government principal areas. We submit that appointing these senior constitutional figures to a set of areas which form "a vital element of the national life" is far more appropriate.

5.7 The historic Counties will be more suitable areas for the specific duties of the Lord-Lieutenants.

We consider that the specific duties of the Lord-Lieutenants of Wales (See Section 1) could be performed just as well, and better in some cases, if the Lieutenancy areas were re-aligned with the historic Counties. In particular, in their role as Custos Rotulorum the Lord-Lieutenants have responsibility for the records of the Courts of Quarter Sessions. These are the records of the business of quarterly meetings of the Justices of the Peace for each (historic) County from the sixteenth century until to 1971. They are major collections of historical documents. They are based upon the historic Counties and so should the office with responsibility for them be. We note that the role of the Lord-Lieutenant as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace already requires joint arrangements since the magistrates courts' committee areas and the commission areas are no longer based on the preserved counties.

5.8 The lieutenancy areas of Scotland are not generally related to local government areas, many are based on an historic County.

Under the Lord-Lieutenants (Scotland) Order 1996 (SI1996/731) there is little correspondence between the Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and those of the current local government areas. Indeed, many of the current Lieutenancy areas are based closely on an historic County (e.g. Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, Berwickshire, Caithness, Clackmannan, Fife, Kincardineshire, Moray, Orkney, Ross and Cromarty, Shetland, Sutherland, Kircudbrightshire, Wigtownshire). If such a separation of Lieutenancy areas is possible in Scotland then it ought to be possible in Wales.

Advantages of ABC's proposal to the office of Sheriff

5.9 Most of the arguments made above for basing the Lieutenancies upon the historic Counties apply equally to the Sheriffs' areas. In the interests of administration and identification these too need to be based on a fixed reference frame of historical and cultural significance. Historical precedence and the important constitutional position of the Sheriffs also dictate that the historic Counties should be the areas used.

5.10 In addition, however, there are strong practical reasons for basing the Sheriffs' areas on the historic Counties. We noted in Section 2.22 that to fulfill his duties as regards the issuing of High Court Writs and Orders the Sheriff appoints an Under Sheriff. The Under Sheriffs' bailiwicks are based upon the 13 historic Counties. It makes administrative sense if the Sheriffs are based on the same areas as the Under Sheriffs.

5.11 As noted in Section 1, aspects of the local government reforms of 1974 and 1996 have undermined traditional county loyalties and identities to some extent. Prime among these was the removal of the Lieutenancies and Sheriffs' areas from the historic Counties and the appointment of them to the 8 "counties" of the LGA 1888. A return of the Lieutenancies and Sheriffs' areas to the historic Counties would do much to make good the adverse consequences of the 1972 Act for the identities of the historic Counties and be an appropriate way of giving official recognition of the important role the Counties play in the national life.

Advantages of ABC's proposal to the geography of Wales

5.12 Aligning the preserved counties with those of the historic Counties would reduce the three geographies currently prevalent with regard to Wales to two and be a big help in relieving the "geographical confusion" described in Section 1. The convention followed by OS since 1889 has been that the area of the Lord-Lieutenant is denoted as "county" on its maps. A return of this office would help to promote the use of the historic Counties as the standard general-purpose geography for Wales.

A limited proposal with several advantages over the Commission's Draft Proposals

5.13 Some (though not all) of the advantages of a return to the use of the historic Counties as a basis for the Lieutenancies and the Sheriffs' areas could be obtained by the following more limited set of amendments to the preserved counties:

1. the boundaries of the preserved county of Gwent be amended so that they are aligned with those of the historic County of Monmouthshire (i.e. NOT the local government principal area of this name).

2. the boundaries of the preserved counties of South Glamorgan and Mid Glamorgan be amended slightly so that the combined area of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan coincides with the historic County of Glamorgan.

3. the boundaries of the preserved county of Powys be amended so that the preserved county coincides with the combined area of the historic Counties of Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire.

4. the boundaries of the preserved county of Gwynedd be amended so that the preserved county coincides. with the combined area of the historic Counties of Merioneth, Caernarfonshire and Anglesey.

5. the boundaries of the preserved county of Clwyd be amended so that the preserved county coincides with the combined area of the historic Counties of Denbighshire and Flintshire (i.e. NOT the local government principal areas of these names).

5.14 The advantage of this scheme would be that the preserved counties would be linker to the historic Counties (rather than, as the Commission's Draft Proposal's suggest, to local government areas). The resulting system would have the same number of Lord-Lieutenants and Sheriffs as at present and would actually entail a smaller area of land being swapped between the preserved counties than is being suggested by the Commission's Draft Proposals. This scheme also has the great advantage over the Draft Proposal that its areas could remain fixed throughout future local government change.

5.15 Some of the advantages to the offices of Lord-Lieutenant and Sheriff which would result from their being associated with an historic County could still be obtained under this idea. The preserved county of Gwent would be identical in area to the historic county of Monmouthshire. The historic County of Glamorgan would be served by three Lieutenancies. In the other preserved counties, recognition could be given to each of the historic Counties by assigning sets of Deputy Lieutenants on a historic County basis. We note that within the current preserved county of Powys, sets of Deputy Lieutenants are already ascribed to each of the 3 historic Counties of Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire (actually not quite all of Brecknockshire lies in the present preserved county of Powys and a small part of Merioneth is under the jurisdiction of the Montgomeryshire Deputy-Lieutenants). This system could easily be adopted in the other preserved Counties, but only if their boundaries are aligned with historic County boundaries.

5.16 A problem with this idea is that it would preserve the names of the 1974-1996 local government "counties" and give the impression that these are made from blocks of historic counties. Less confusing, geographically descriptive names would be preferable to this (i.e. "Southwest Wales" rather than "Dyfed'", "Mid-Wales" rather than "Powys", "North-West Wales" rather than Gwynedd, "North-East Wales" rather than "Clwyd", Gwent should be renamed Monmouthshire). We note that the Assembly has the power to change the name of any preserved County (Section 20(9) of the LGA 1972).

6. Conclusions

6.1 Our proposal that the areas of the preserved counties should be aligned with those of the 13 historic (or traditional) Counties of Wales would correct one of the two major faults of the LGA 1972, i.e. that of removing the ceremonial offices from the areas of the 13 historic Counties of Wales and aligning them with the 8 local government "counties" created by that Act. These two important constitutional and historic offices deserve to be based upon areas of historical and cultural significance and not on historically and culturally meaningless combinations of local government areas. Likewise, the basing of these offices on the historic Counties would be an appropriate official recognition of the important part the Counties play in our national life.

6.2 The other major fault of the LGA 1972 was in naming its top-tier areas "counties". This folly of the 1972 Act has now been compounded by the perplexing set of local government terminology allowed under the 1972 Act as amended by the LG(VV)A 1994. We recognise that the Commission is not empowered to rectify this situation. Nonetheless, for the sake of completeness, we list below the relatively simple measures that need to be taken to sort out the current mess.

1. The word "county" and the phrase "county borough" should be removed from local government terminology in Wales. The splitting of the "principal areas" of the LGA 1972 into "counties" and "county boroughs" is unnecessary and confusing. All of these areas should be described as "districts".

2. The principal councils should be known as "district councils" or just "councils". The principal councils of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport should be allowed to use the style "city council".

3. The phrase "preserved county" should be replaced with the more appropriate "ceremonial county".

4. The Ordnance Survey should be directed to mere the boundaries of the ceremonial counties and present them under the label "county (ceremonial)" on its larger-scale maps.

5. A uniform type of road sign should be used throughout Wales to mark the boundaries of the 13 historic Counties. These should be based on white on brown tourist signs and include the phrase "Historic County of above the County name so as to draw a clear distinction between these signs and those erected by local authorities.

6. The legislation concerning the boundary signs showing local government boundaries should be amended so as to ensure that the full council name appears on such signs.

7. The principal councils of the principal areas of "Flintshire", "Denbighshire" and "Monmouthshire" should be encouraged to adopt more appropriate names ("Flint", "Denbigh" and "East Monmouthshire" being obvious possibilities).

Appendix A. The purposes for which the preserved counties are relevant

As noted in Section 1, the LG(W)A 1994 established the purposes for which the preserved counties were to be the relevant areas. However, in many areas further legislation has superseded the provisions made by the LG(Vt)A 1994. In this appendix we briefly review those areas of legislation which were relevant at the time of the passing of the LG(VV)A 1994. We highlight those types of administration for which the preserved counties are stall relevant and hence which should be considered as part of the Review of the Preserved Counties.

The Lieutenancies Act 1997

The current areas and duties of the Lord-Lieutenants of Great Britain are governed by the Lieutenancies Act 1997. Section 1(1) of the Act says:

"A lord-lieutenant shall be appointed by Her Majesty for each county in England, each county in Wales and each area in Scotland (other than the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow)."

Section 6 of Schedule 1 says:

"The counties of Wales for the purposes of this Act are the preserved counties, that is to say, the counties in Wales as they stood immediately before the passing of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (but subject to any redrawing of their boundaries by or under that Act or the Local Government Act 1972). "

Hence, any change in the areas of the preserved counties will affect a change in the areas of the Lord-Lieutenants of Wales.

The Sheriffs Act 1887

The areas and duties of the Sheriffs of England and Wales are governed by the Sheriffs Act 1887. Section 3(1) of the Act states that:

`A sheriff shall be appointed annually for every county. "

Section 3(4) of the Sheriffs Act 1887 says:

"In this Act "county", in relation to Wales, means a preserved county (as defined by Section 64 of the Local Govemmnent (Wales) Act 1994). "

Hence the Sheriffs of Wales are also appointed to the preserved counties. Any change in the areas of the preserved counties will affect a change in the areas of the Sheriffs.

The Defence Act 1842

Under this Act the Lord-Lieutenant and Deputy-Lieutenants of a preserved county are given several duties in relation to the defence of the realm. Prime among these is the right to take land for the defence of the realm without the consent of the owners should the interests of necessity and expediency require this. As noted above, changes to the preserved counties will change the Lieutenancy areas, though the effect of this on these esoteric duties of the Lord-Lieutenant should not be a major concern of the review.

The Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967

Section 10 of this Act says that the portion of the sea-shore to which a sea fisheries order applies shall be deemed to lie within the bodies of the various administrative areas adjoining the sea shore (including the preserved counties). Now that the judicial areas are no longer related to the preserved counties (see below) it is hard to think of a context in which this could be relevant. It is certainly not an issue which should bear on a consideration of what the areas of the preserved counties should be.

The Interpretation Act 1978

Schedule 2 Section 9 of the LG(W)A 1978 amended this Act such that the following definition of "Wales" now appears in Schedule 1:

" "Wales" means the combined area of the counties which were created by Section 20 of the (1972 c. 701 Local Government Act 1972, as originally enacted but subject to any alteration made under section 73 of that Act (consequential alteration of boundary following alteration of watercourse)."

Note that this definition does not actually involve the preserved counties but the counties of the 1972 Act as first created. The only way a change can be made to the area defined as "Wales" would be via an alteration of a watercourse. Hence, any changes to the preserved counties will not affect this definition. It is worth noting that this definition of "Wales" is different to that within the LGA 1972 (see below).

The Justices of the Peace Act 1979

The Magistrates Court Act 1980

The Licensing Act 1964

Those parts of the Justices of the Peace Act 1979 and the Magistrates Court Act 1980 relevant to the preserved counties were superceded by the Justices of the Peace Act 1997. This Act, as originally enacted, did refer to the preserved counties as the basis for "commission areas", "petty sessions areas" and "magistrates' courts committee (MCC) areas". However, these sections of the 1997 Act have now been amended by the Access to Justice Act 1999. The preserved counties are no longer referred to in the amended Justices of the Peace Act 1997.

Section 1 of the amended Justices of the Peace Act 1997 now stipulates that the commission areas shall be as specified by the Lord Chancellor by order made by statutory instrument. Similarly, Section 4 of the amended 199? Act now stipulates that the petty sessions areas shall be as specified by the Lord Chancellor by order made by statutory instrument. Similarly Section 27A of the amended Act now stipulates that the MCC areas shall be as specified by the Lord Chancellor by order made by statutory instrument.

Under SI 2001/695, the MCC areas of Wales are defined by reference to the local government principal areas of Wales and NOT to the preserved counties.

Dyfed Powys: Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Powys