Local government in Surrey is expected to change, in a move which will ultimately result in Runnymede Borough Council ceasing to exist as a Local Authority.
All Surrey district and borough councils and Surrey County Council will cease to exist at a date to be set in the future by central Government. They will be replaced by a much smaller number of new authorities, providing all local government services in larger geographic areas known as unitary councils.
Some areas of the country have already moved to unitary status, but the decision to accelerate this process was made by the Deputy Prime Minister who announced in Parliament this week that “reorganisation [in Surrey] is essential to unlocking devolution options and a delay [to May 2025 elections] would help deliver both reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeframe.”
The Deputy Prime Minister specifically identified Surrey as having an urgent need to re-organise to create sustainable forms of local government.
Therefore in Surrey, the county council’s elections, which were due to take place in May this year will be suspended for 12 months to facilitate Local Government Re-organisation.
Any change is unlikely to happen before April 2027 and will be subject to Government approval.
Leaders and Chief Officers of the Surrey district and borough councils and the county council are in regular contact on this issue and are clear that services which people rely on will still need to be delivered and that any future arrangements will be in the best interests of our communities.
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