Local Authority Changes - News as at Feb2025

18 February 2025

Image of GBC Millmead (c) GoogleEarth

Further Detail Available

Further documents have been published by the government which clarify the processes and eventual model being adopted for the Devolution of Local Government, particularly how Mayoral Authorities align with Unitary Authorities.

The debate between the 11 Borough and Local Councils as to the size and shape of Unitary authorities in Surrey has gathers pace.

Finally questions remain for Guildford including if a Town Council might be implemented and what functions it would cover.

NOTE SEE OTHER POSTS ON THIS SUBJECT AT FOOT OF THIS POST FOR MORE BACKGROUND

Mayoral Combined County Authorities

The government has now published detailed advice on how six Mayoral Authorities are to be established, their roles and responsibilities, and interrelationship with Unitary Authorities in their areas. It also includes information on the election of a Mayor.

The six authorities cover

Cumbria
Cheshire & Warrington
Norfolk & Suffolk
Greater Essex
Sussex & Brighton
Hampshire & Solent

Surrey will ultimately join this programme once Unitaries authorities are established to replace Surrey County Council and Borough/District councils.

The guidance given to Sussex and Brighton is at this link for information. An interesting document as it shows what the Surrey Mayoral Authority may look like when established.

Creating Unitary Authorities

Nine Areas (East Sussex, West Sussex, Essex, Thurrock, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Suffolk and Surrey) have been given permission to delay Local elections to allow resources to be focused on establishing Unitary Authorities s as a precursor to establishing Mayoral Combined Authorities.

Surrey is one of these areas, though it is not immediately included in the creation of Mayoral Authority unlike for example East Sussex). The government did note in its announcement that with reference to Surrey - “given the urgency of creating sustainable unitary local government for Surrey, we will postpone the county election for that area from May 2025 to May 2026, helping to speed up reorganisation and deliver the local ambitions for devolution with the benefits it will bring”.

The Ministry of Housing and Local Government issued detailed instructions to the 12 Borough/District councils in Surrey on the 5^th February - See Link

Nine points of interest, from this document, are summarised below. It should be noted that housing is seen as a vital determinant see point 3. And point 9. shows a tough line is being taken on budgets and outstanding debts. Point 4. mentions Local Engagement but how this is to be conducted is not clear.

Amongst factors that need to be considered when designing the boundaries of new unitary Authorities
Should be for sensible economic areas, with an appropriate taxbase which does not create an undue advantage or disadvantage for one part of the area.
Be a sensible geography which will help to increase housing supply and meet local needs.
Robust evidence and analysis should include an explanation of the outcomes it is expected to achieve, including evidence of estimated costs/benefits and local engagement.
Unitary local government must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks.
New Unitaries should aim for a population of 500,000 or more.
Efficiencies should be identified to help improve councils’ finances
Proposals as how an area will seek to manage transition costs, including planning for future service transformation opportunities.
In general, as with previous restructures, there is no proposal for council debt to be addressed centrally or written off as part of reorganisation. For areas where there are exceptional circumstances where there has been failure linked to capital practices, proposals should reflect the extent to which the implications of this can be managed locally, including as part of efficiencies possible through reorganisation.

Ambitious Timescale

The timescale for this work is very ambitious with draft proposals likely to discuss the number and boundaries of Unitaries within Surrey being submitted by the 21^st March and final proposals returned by 6^th May.

Unitary Boundaries

The idea to have one unitary council for the whole of Surrey, according to press reports has been discounted. There are discussions ongoing as whether 2 or 3 unitaries are the most appropriate for Surrey.

Creating Unitaries from the 11 council areas.

In 2020 KPMG were commissioned by the District councils in surrey to look at how Unitaries might be formed. This study was in response by the proposal from Surrey County Council to produce one Unitary. This proposal was rejected by the government.

The KPMG study has examined a series of options dividing Surrey into 2 or 3 unitaries. The criteria for this judgement is obviously not informed by the current governments’ criteria for creating unitaries but it is still a good basis for developing options.

The KPMG study can be found at the foot of this post

Parish and Town Councils

Current Parish and town councils are not due to change except they will be subservient to a Unitary Authority. Some areas don’t have a Parish or Town Council this includes Guildford.

Potentially there an opportunity to create a Town Council for Guildford as exists in Farnham, this may also need to be supplemented by Parish Councils in the Urban Area, or an expansion of adjacent parish councils.

The map below shows the parish councils surrounding Guildford Town shaded in Blue. There may be a case for implementing a Town Council/Parish Councils for Guildford to handle very local issues and also be a statutory consultee on planning matters.

The map below shows the borders defined as Town Centre (Red Border) and Uraban Area (Black) border as a comparison to the area shown in the previous map.

Debts

Surrey has debts of £5Bn plus. How this debt is to be handled is a critical matter. A suspicion is that Council Tax Payers across the new Unitaries will be faced with managing the debt caused by certain aras of surrey e.g. Woking.