{"id":542713,"date":"2026-03-17T17:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/542713\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:05:08","slug":"planning-continues-to-ensure-new-surrey-councils-are-ready-to-serve-communities-from-day-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/542713\/","title":{"rendered":"Planning continues to ensure new Surrey councils are ready to serve communities from day one"},"content":{"rendered":"

On\u00a0Friday 13 March, the East and West Surrey Joint Committees met to continue their work supporting a smooth and\u00a0well managed\u00a0transition ahead of vesting day on 1\u00a0April 2027.<\/p>\n

These committees bring together councillors from the current councils to begin planning for the move to the new East and West Surrey authorities. They will continue to meet monthly until the Shadow Authorities are formally\u00a0established\u00a0following the\u00a0May 2026 elections. This early work is about putting the right foundations in place and providing stability during a period of change.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What was discussed at the March meetings:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Implementation\u00a0Programme:\u00a0The Joint Committees\u00a0continue to oversee the work of the Implementation\u00a0Team (Programme Board), reinforcing the\u00a0priority\u00a0for\u00a0a\u00a0smooth and\u00a0well managed\u00a0transition\u00a0to East and West Surrey Councils.\u00a0A draft\u00a0illustrative\u00a0financial baseline report was presented:\u00a0This illustrative\u00a0financial baseline gives an early view of the position the new councils are likely to inherit in April 2027. It shows that both East and West Surrey will face financial pressures, including rising demand for services and limited resources.\u00a0Financial pressures that would be present\u00a0whether or not\u00a0devolution and local government reorganisation were taking place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It also highlights specific challenges in parts of West Surrey linked to historic debt, underlining the importance of careful and responsible financial planning as we move towards Vesting Day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the work ahead for the Shadow Authorities will be significant, this baseline provides a helpful starting point. With strong governance, clear financial oversight, partnership working and continued engagement with government to unlock the debt relief arrangements for Woking’s historic debt, the aim is to\u00a0establish\u00a0two stable and resilient councils, ready to support their communities from day one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Government has been clear that it\u00a0remains\u00a0committed to working with Woking to resolve its legacy debt issues. A\u00a0ministerial letter received from Alison McGovern MP in February 2026<\/a>\u00a0has confirmed that “we will continue to explore what further debt support is required at a later point”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How plans will be checked after the elections:\u00a0Following the Shadow Authority elections, Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committees will take on\u00a0an important role\u00a0in reviewing the implementation plans. They will provide independent challenge to the Shadow Cabinets, helping to\u00a0identify\u00a0and manage risks and making sure plans are realistic,\u00a0robust\u00a0and legally sound. This scrutiny is a key safeguard to ensure decisions are well considered and the transition stays on track.\u00a0Planning during the Shadow Period:\u00a0Under the Surrey (Structural Changes) Order 2026, Shadow Authorities will decide their own meeting schedules. To help with this, the Joint Committees\u00a0discussed\u00a0a draft timetable to recommend to them, with meetings expected to begin from Wednesday 20 May 2026\u00a0(venues\u00a0to be confirmed).\u00a0Devolution update\u00a0<\/p>\n

Surrey councils are continuing discussions with Government about bringing more\u00a0decision\u00a0making\u00a0powers closer to Surrey, through a countywide Strategic Authority, giving Surrey a stronger voice on local issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Councils will\u00a0consider whether to\u00a0submit\u00a0an expression of interest to become a\u00a0Foundational Strategic Authority, a form of devolution without a\u00a0Mayor\u00a0that would enable greater local decision\u00a0making, including around economic growth, and provide a pathway to a future Mayoral Strategic Authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Terence Herbert, Senior Responsible Officer for\u202fDevolution and Local Government Reorganisation\u202fin Surrey and Chief Executive of Surrey County Council said:\u202f\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This work is about planning ahead, being honest about the challenges, and making sure the new councils start on a strong footing. By focusing on good governance, sound financial planning and partnership working, we are taking the right steps now to ensure our residents are supported from 1 April 2027\u00a0and beyond.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cllr\u202fBridget Kendrick,\u202fChair of\u202fthe East\u202fSurrey\u202f\u00a0Joint\u202fCommittee\u00a0and\u202fMole Valley District Council\u202fLeader\u202fsaid:\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

“By agreeing clear programme governance, understanding the financial position we are working from, and strengthening scrutiny and oversight, we are focused on ensuring a smooth and well\u00a0managed transition to the East and West Surrey Councils in April 2027.”\u00a0
\u00a0
Cllr Ann-Marie Barker, Chair of the West Surrey Joint Committee and Woking Borough Council Leader said:\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Our priority is to put strong foundations in place so that, from day one, two stable and resilient councils are ready to support their communities. This work is about providing confidence,\u00a0continuity\u00a0and stability through the transition.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can view the meeting papers, the full list of councillors for each committee and the webcasts:\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next meetings of the Joint Committees will take place\u00a0in\u00a0April\u00a0– dates and venues to follow.\u00a0These meetings will also be webcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Published on:\u00a017 March 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On\u00a0Friday 13 March, the East and West Surrey Joint Committees met to continue their work supporting a smooth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":{"0":"post-542713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-surrey","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-surrey"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}