Surrey reorganisation: McGovern sets commissioner roles
On 28 October 2025, Alison McGovern MP wrote to the government‑appointed Commissioners at Spelthorne and Woking. The letter, published on GOV.UK, explains how their work should support the next stage of Surrey’s local government reorganisation. If you live in either area, this is the formal steer on what happens next.
What is she asking for? Commissioners should keep leading improvement locally and help get the new councils ready. McGovern says they should act as an experienced senior team-giving tough advice, oversight and mentoring-and be involved in the Implementation Team that Surrey councils will set up for the transition. She also signals that the incoming ‘shadow authorities’ will need to pay regard to Commissioner reports and each council’s Improvement and Recovery Plan.
Quick explainer: Commissioners are independent experts appointed when a council is failing its Best Value duty under the Local Government Act 1999. Spelthorne and Woking are already under statutory intervention, with appointment letters spelling out their powers and responsibilities. Their job is to steady services, fix governance and guide financial recovery before and during reorganisation.
The wider decision arrived the same day. The Secretary of State confirmed government will implement two new unitary councils-East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council-subject to Parliament. He also made an in‑principle commitment to repay £500m of Woking’s debt in 2026–27, subject to value‑for‑money tests and progress on asset sales.
Here’s the timetable in plain English. Officials will circulate a draft Structural Changes Order so work for May 2026 elections can start now. Councils are being encouraged to form Joint Committees and an Implementation Team early, with the aim that the new authorities go live on 1 April 2027, if Parliament approves.
If you’re teaching this, a ‘shadow authority’ is the elected council that prepares everything in the year before vesting day. It agrees the first budget, staffing and service plans so the new council is ‘safe and legal’ from day one. Government guidance says the Implementation Plan should cover practical issues like council tax harmonisation and how services are brought together.
For residents, the map matters. East Surrey would cover Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge. West Surrey would cover Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking-reflecting the two‑unitary option tested through consultation.
A technical point that affects Spelthorne and Woking directly: ministers propose exempting both councils from the usual ‘section 24’ consent rules that limit significant spending and disposals before reorganisation. The aim is to let Commissioners keep tackling complex commercial issues without separate sign‑off from the new authorities, while still driving recovery.
System support is also being lined up. John Metcalfe has been appointed as a sector adviser across Surrey. He won’t take decisions like Commissioners do; his role is to help all councils craft a robust Implementation Plan, drawing on experience from Cumbria’s move to unitary councils.
What should you expect to see? Day‑to‑day services continue as normal while transition work ramps up. You’ll vote in May 2026 for the new councils, which will then spend a year preparing. Subject to Parliament, the two unitary authorities will take over all local services on 1 April 2027, with branding, contacts and teams changing gradually through that year.