The Redcliffe-Maud Report (Cmnd. 4040) was published in 1969 by the Royal Commission on Local Government in England, under the chairmanship of Lord Redcliffe-Maud. Although the commission's proposals were broadly accepted by the Labour government, they were set aside by the Conservative government elected in 1970. Terms of reference and membership The commission was appointed on 7 June 1966, with the following terms of reference: "....to consider the structure of Local Government in England, outside Greater London, in relation to its existing functions; and to make recommendations for authorities and boundaries, and for functions and their division, having regard to the size and character of areas in which these can be most effectively exercised and the need to sustain a viable system of local democracy; and to report." The members of the commission were Redcliffe-Maud (chairman), John Eveleigh Bolton (vice-chairman), Derek Senior, Sir James William Francis Hill, Victor Grayson Hardie Feather, Arthur Hedley Marshall, Peter Mursell, John Laurence Longland, Reginald Charles Wallis, Thomas Dan Smith and Dame Evelyn Adelaide Sharp. Report findings Broadly the report recommended the abolition of all existing county, county borough, borough, urban district and rural district councils, which had been created at the end of the 19th century, and replacing them with new unitary authorities. These new unitary authorities were largely based on major towns, which acted as regional employment, commercial, social and recreational centres and took into account local transport infrastructure and travel patterns. There were to be 58 new unitary authorities and three metropolitan areas (Merseyside; South East Lancashire/North East Cheshire or 'Selnec'; and West Midlands), which were to be sub-divided into lower tier metropolitan districts. These new authorities, along with Greater London, were to be grouped into eight provinces, each with its own provincial council. Division of functions In arriving at their recommendations, the commissioners were guided by a number of principles which they had themselves devised. These included: Town and country are interdependent, therefore the separate administration of urban areas and their rural hinterlands should cease. "Physical environment services" should be in the hands of a single authority. Examples of these services included planning and transport. To provide these wide area services, the authority should have boundaries that reflected geographical patterns of population and movement and provided a coherent area of administration. "Personal services" should likewise be administered by a single council. These included education, social services, health and housing. The optimum