Letter to the Local Government Secretary: The Government's Review of Local Government Reorganisation

Please see the letter below.

Dr Al Pinkerton MP has joined Zoë Franklin MP and other Surrey Liberal Democrat MPs in writing to Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner, seeking urgent answers about the Government’s approach to local government reorganisation in Surrey.

The letter follows the Government’s decision to withdraw or reconsider reorganisation proposals elsewhere after receiving updated legal advice, while allowing Surrey’s reorganisation to continue according to the existing timetable.

It warns that Surrey risks becoming an “experiment of one”, with residents asked to proceed with a programme that is being reconsidered across much of the country.

Key calls include:

• Confirm whether the updated legal advice raises concerns about the process followed in Surrey.
• Confirm that ministers remain satisfied that Surrey’s reorganisation was agreed through a legally robust process.
• Publish a summary of the legal issues that prompted the Government’s wider review.
• Reassess the financial assumptions underpinning Surrey’s two-unitary model.
• Review the treatment of inherited debt in the original business case.
• Clarify whether Surrey councils or taxpayers could face additional liabilities if flaws emerge.
• Hold an urgent meeting with Surrey MPs and the leaders of the new East and West Surrey councils.
• Provide additional support if the Government continues with its current approach.

Al and his colleagues have confidence in those working to establish the new authorities. However, they believe Surrey residents deserve transparency, consistency and a full explanation of why the county is being required to continue when similar decisions elsewhere are under review.

Please see the letter below.