Surrey councils make progress with Local Government Reorganisation transition

The government announced last year that Surrey County Council and Surrey’s 11 district and borough councils should reorganise into two new unitary authorities – West Surrey Council and East Surrey Council.

In May, residents will elect councillors who will serve on the new councils, which will initially be ‘shadow authorities’ tasked with setting up the new organisations. 

Then from April 2027, they’ll officially take over delivering all local services in each area. Until then, district and borough councils and Surrey County Council will continue to deliver their current services with existing councillors.

New joint committees

Due to the scale, complexity and timescales of work to be delivered, the new committees, made up of existing councillors from borough, district and county council, will start the initial work. 

The East Surrey Voluntary Joint Committee met on Thursday 15 January at Surrey County Council's office in Reigate, and the West Surrey Voluntary Joint Committee met on Friday 16 January at Woking Borough Council's Civic Offices. 

Both committees agreed to the development of an implementation plan for the new councils, including the implementation team made up of council officers, chairs of the committees and the process to agree some of the key officer roles that will support shadow councils on an interim basis until the permanent recruitment takes place. 

Both committees will now meet monthly and will rotate around their areas, until the shadow authorities are formed after the elections.

Terence Herbert, Senior Responsible Officer for the Surrey Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) Programme and Chief Executive of Surrey County Council said: 

“This is an important milestone for LGR in Surrey and I’m grateful that councillors have agreed to come together on a voluntary basis to get this vital work underway.

At the heart of this programme is ensuring that residents continue to receive the services they expect from their local councils, both under the existing arrangements and under the new unitary authorities. As a collective group of councils, we are well prepared for change and committed to ensuring a smooth transition for residents and staff.”

Government is also clear that simplifying local government ensures a strong foundation for devolution and that they are committed to working with partners across Surrey to establish a strategic authority for the area. 

The ambition is to bring further devolution to Surrey and there are ongoing discussions between local officials and government on this.