proposals were in large part based on ideas of the County Councils Association, the Urban District Councils Association and the Rural District Councils Association. The White Paper outlined principles, including an acceptance of the minimum population of 250,000 for education authorities in the Redcliffe-Maud report, and its findings that the division of functions between town and country had been harmful, but that some functions were better performed by smaller units. The White Paper set out the proposed division of functions between districts and counties, and also suggested a minimum population of 40,000 for districts. The government aimed to introduce a Bill in the 1971/72 session of Parliament for elections in 1973, so that the new authorities could start exercising full powers on 1 April 1974. The White Paper made no commitments on regional or provincial government, since the Conservative government preferred to wait for the Crowther Commission to report. The proposals were substantially changed with the introduction of the Bill into Parliament in November 1971: Area 4 (Cleveland) would have had a border with area 2 (Tyne and Wear), cutting area 3 (Durham) off from the coast. Seaham and Easington were to be part of the Sunderland district. Humberside did not exist in the White Paper. The East Riding was split between area 5 (North Yorkshire) and an area 8 (East Yorkshire). Grimsby and Northern Lindsey were to be part of area 22 (Lincolnshire). Harrogate and Knaresborough had been included in district 6b (Leeds) Dronfield in Derbyshire had been included in district 7c (Sheffield) Area 9 (Cumbria) did not at this stage include the Sedbergh Rural District from Yorkshire Area 10 (Lancashire) included more parishes from the West Riding of Yorkshire than were eventually included Area 11 (Merseyside) did not include Southport, but did include Ellesmere Port and Neston Area 12 (Greater Manchester) lost New Mills and Whaley Bridge (to be with Stockport), and Glossop (to be in Tameside) The Seisdon Rural District, which formed a narrow peninsula of Staffordshire running between Shropshire and the Black Country county boroughs, would originally have been split three ways, between the Wolverhampton district (15a), area 16 (Shropshire) and area 17 (Worcestershire) Halesowen would have become part of district 15d (Sandwell) rather than 15c (Dudley) District 15f (Solihull) would have included part of the Birmingham county borough as well as parishes from Stratford on Avon Rural District Area 18 (Warwickshire) would have included several