Surrey leaders say "serious concerns" have not been addressed after devolution announcement
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner confirmed that Surrey will be one of nine local constituencies to have their elections postponed for a year amid the reorganisation of local government across the country.
The chair of a group Borough and District Council leaders in Surrey says their serious concerns have not been addressed following a government announcement about the future of local authorities in the county.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner confirmed that Surrey will be one of nine local constituencies to have their elections postponed for a year amid the reorganisation of local government across the country.
In an announcement this week, Angela Rayner said Surrey had been chosen "given the urgency of creating sustainable new unitary structures and to unlock devolution for this area.
Yet the Deputy Prime Minister has faced some criticism - and Councillor Hannah Dalton, who chairs both Epsom and Ewell Borough Council and the leader group, said in a statement that there's a lack of clarity over how Surrey's debt will be addressed to avoid new authorities being set up to fail.
Councillor Hannah Dalton, Chair of the Surrey Leaders Group, has commented:
“The ambitions set out by the Government will see the biggest shake up of local government for fifty years. In Surrey this means that the county elections in May this year have been postponed to 2026, which this Group has already opposed.
In addition, the Government announcement does not address the serious concerns we hold around local government reorganisation including establishing unitary authorities for populations of 500k people, which will take decision making further way from communities, or provided any clarity around how the debt held within Surrey is going to be addressed so that new authorities are not set up to fail.
Throughout the upcoming process, councils across Surrey are committed to delivering the best possible solution for all our residents. Our focus over the coming weeks and months will be to continue to work together, to deliver a proposal that ensures our residents and local communities receive the high-quality public services they rely on both now, and for years to come.”
Surrey County Council's leader Tim Oliver has welcomed the changes, saying that the "resources and time that would have been spent on an election this year can now be redirected to working on the best possible outcome of reorganisation for Surrey"
However, Surrey Liberal Democrat MPs have criticised the move, saying that residents have been "denied" their voice - and in a joint statement said that Conservatives are "running scared" and have "succeeded in stopping these elections from happening in May".
In Hampshire, the move to postpone elections has been criticised by North East Hampshire's MP, the Liberal Democrat Alex Brewer.
Ms Brewer described the move to postpone elections as "extremely frustrating and damaging" for the county's local democracy.
Hampshire County Council leader Nick Adams-King described being fast tracked for devolution as "exciting" for the county.