The borough of Redcar & Cleveland is a unitary authority

Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...

 in the ceremonial county

Ceremonial counties of England

The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...

  of North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 consisting of Redcar

Redcar

Redcar is a seaside resort in the north east of England, and a major town in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. It lies east-northeast of Middlesbrough by the North Sea coast...

, Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Saltburn-by-the-Sea is a seaside resort in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The town is around east of Middlesbrough, and had a population of 5,912 at the 2001 Census.-Old Saltburn:...

, Guisborough

Guisborough

Guisborough is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England....

, and small towns such as Brotton

Brotton

Brotton is a village in the parish of Skelton and Brotton, in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately 2.5 miles southeast of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, 16.7 miles east of Middlesbrough and 16.6 miles northwest of Whitby...

, Eston

Eston

Eston is a town within the Unitary Authority of Redcar and Cleveland, England. Within the Middlesbrough agglomeration it falls inside the Greater Eston initiative...

, Skelton

Skelton-in-Cleveland

Skelton-in-Cleveland is a small town in the civil parish of Skelton and Brotton in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire in the North East of England. It is situated at the foot of the Cleveland Hills and about east of Middlesbrough. Skelton is...

 and Loftus

Loftus, North Yorkshire

Loftus is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in a region between Saltburn-by-the-Sea and the North York Moors...

. It had a resident population of 139,132 in 2001, and is part of the Tees Valley

Tees Valley

The Tees Valley is an area in the North East of England. It can be described as "greater Teesside" and consists of the four unitary authorities created by the breakup of the County of Cleveland in 1996: Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, and Stockton-On-Tees along with the borough of...

 economic area. It is represented in Parliament by Ian Swales (Liberal Democrat) for the Redcar

Redcar (UK Parliament constituency)

Redcar is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

 constituency and by Tom Blenkinsop (Labour) for the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (UK Parliament constituency)

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 constituency.

The district was created in 1974 as the borough

Borough status in the United Kingdom

Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...

 of Langbaurgh, one of four districts

Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 of the new non-metropolitan county of Cleveland

Cleveland, England

Cleveland is an area in the north east of England. Its name means literally "cliff-land", referring to its hilly southern areas, which rise to nearly...

.