In whole, the reforms consolidated the number of provinces or regions and created an intermediate tier of government between the national and local levels (Box 2.1). Local empowerment and decentralisation continue to be articulated as an important policy objective of the national government through its new Strategy for Responsible Development (this is discussed further in Chapter 3). While this is an articulated objective, its implementation is another matter and comes down to the regulatory role of the state and that of central state institutions. The voivodeships are based on historical regions for the most part, of w hich there are 16 in total. All told there are 314 powiats (including 65 cities with powiat status) and 2 479 gminas. Major cities can hold the status of both gmina and powiat.