As part of the ongoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and Devolution process, Surrey County Council has now published its final plan for Shaping Surrey’s Future.
The county council’s plan advocates the creation of two unitary authorities in Surrey – East Surrey and West Surrey – as the most cost-effective, efficient and simple way of providing key local services.
The new authorities would have responsibility for all local government services in their area, including refuse collection, highways, parks and open spaces, libraries, social care, education and planning. They would replace the current two-tier system of one county and 11 district / borough councils.
The creation of new unitary authorities would also unlock further devolved responsibilities for Surrey. These would sit with a directly elected mayor representing the whole of Surrey, providing strategic oversight for economic development, skills, transport and housing.
Other areas, such as Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, already operate successfully this way. It sees the strategic authority working directly with employers to drive growth, improve employment opportunities for residents and bring investment into their regions.
Timeline for Shaping Surrey’s Future
If approved by its cabinet next week, Surrey County Council will submit its Shaping Surrey’s Future proposal to government before 9 May. The full proposal is on the Council website with additional information in the appendices.
District and borough councils will be putting alternative proposals forward by the same deadline.
Ministers will make a final decision in the early Autumn.
LGR – view from a business leader
Chris Hurren, chair of Surrey Business Leaders’ Forum, wrote an individual letter of support for the proposal, saying:
“While we recognise that LGR in itself is a matter for our local authority leaders to discuss directly with [government], on behalf of businesses across Surrey I want to reemphasise the importance of delivering strategic economic functions on a single county footprint.
“Our belief – supported by examples of devolution elsewhere, such as Greater Manchester and the West Midlands – is that business growth is dependent upon opportunities to maximise and leverage economies of scale, supporting cross-county collaboration between high-growth clusters and innovation assets.”
He added: “Whichever path is taken through the Local Government Reorganisation and devolution in Surrey, future success will require collaborative working with strong and independent unitary authorities operating on functional economic areas with a fair and reasonable split of innovation assets and strategic towns.
“We trust government and our local elected representatives to agree on the best way forward for the businesses, residents and communities of Surrey, ensuring that these authorities are well-placed to provide crucial, efficient and effective public services in the short and long term.”
