It could introduce drastic changes, such as splitting up some councils. The commission radically reformed the structure and functions of local governments. For this purpose, it relied on a set of “principles” enshrined in the Government Economic Statement (1987) and sent to local authorities for information and consultation. The previous 200 local authorities were replaced by 12 regional councils and 75 city and district councils (currently 11 regions and 67 city and district councils).