Local Government Reorganisation update

A summary of the ongoing Local Government Reorganisation effort by Surrey County Councillor Ashley Tilling.

At the end of last year, the government made the surprise announcement of a plan for Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). This entails eliminating two-tier local government by combining the responsibilities of Districts & Boroughs (waste collection, planning, green space management) with those of Surrey County Council (SCC) (children’s services, adult social care, highways) and replacing them with single tier, ‘unitary’ authorities. Surrey will become a Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSA) with devolved powers for transport, economic growth and strategic planning.

SCC pressed to be in the first phase of county councils which meant cancelling May’s elections for county councillors. We did not support this as we believe residents should have been given the opportunity to vote on the poor record of the county administration over the last four years.
 

SCC has put forward to the government the option of dividing into two unitary authorities while the Districts and Boroughs mostly prefer dividing into three. Three provides greater local representation based on centres of population and economic activity. This is a massive reorganisation in a very short space of time. There are significant concerns about how the total debt across Districts & Boroughs will be handled (about £5bn, mainly from Woking, Spelthorne and Runnymede).
 

The Minister for Local Government has requested final proposals are submitted by 9 th May. Of the 11 Borough and District Councils, 8 have proposed three unitary authorities with one combining Elmbridge, Runnymede and Spelthorne. Elmbridge and the two other Councils are currently awaiting greater financial analysis before making a decision based on what we think will best serve the interests of our residents.