Why This Is Happening

Surrey currently operates a two-tier system: Surrey County Council handles major services (education, social care, highways), while 11 district and borough councils manage local services (planning, housing, waste collection). This means residents pay council tax to two separate authorities.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) replaces this two-tier system with unitary authorities — single councils that handle everything. The government argues this reduces duplication, cuts costs, and simplifies governance. It is part of a broader programme of English devolution.

In December 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government invited Surrey's councils to submit proposals for reorganisation. Two competing visions emerged.

Woking Borough Council's financial collapse in 2023 was a catalyst. The council had accumulated over £2 billion in debt through reckless commercial borrowing, making it the most indebted local authority per capita in Britain. It issued a Section 114 notice (effectively declaring bankruptcy) in June 2023, and government commissioners were appointed.

But Woking was not alone. Spelthorne, Runnymede, and Surrey Heath all faced varying degrees of financial stress. The government saw reorganisation as an opportunity to create larger, more financially resilient authorities — though critics argue it simply spreads the debt burden across a wider population.