---

Local Government Reorganisation

My Honourable Friend the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon OBE MP) has today made the following statement:

As I told the House on 5 February, I have issued invitations under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (the 2007 Act) to all councils in two-tier areas and their small neighbouring unitary authorities to work together to develop proposals for unitary local government. This reform will mean more accountable structures, making it much clearer for residents who they should look to on local issues, with fewer, but more empowered local political leaders, who can focus on delivering for residents. I told the House on 3 June that I had received proposals from Surrey councils by the deadline specified in their invitation of 9 May. I will now provide an update on Local Government Reorganisation in Surrey.

I received two proposals – one from Elmbridge Borough Council, Mole Valley District Council and Surrey County Council for two unitary councils, and one from the Borough Councils of Epsom and Ewell, Guildford, Reigate and Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking, and Tandridge District Council for three unitary councils. I also received a joint submission from the Borough Councils of Reigate and Banstead and Crawley, in West Sussex, which I have decided does not meet the statutory requirements for a proposal or the terms of the invitation and is accompanied by insufficient information that would enable a decision to be taken to implement it.

Today I have launched a consultation on the two proposals from Surrey councils. This is available at gov.uk, and I will deposit a copy of the consultation in the House Library. I would welcome views from any interested person, including residents, and I am consulting the councils which made the proposals, other councils affected by the proposals, and councils in neighbouring areas. I am also consulting public service providers, including health providers and the police and fire service and certain other business and voluntary sector bodies.

The consultation period will run for seven weeks until Tuesday 5 August. The consultation document is available and those responding may do so on the Department’s online platform “Citizen Space” or by email or post. The consultation will provide information to help my assessment of the merits of each proposal, and I will carefully consider all the representations I receive, along with all other relevant information available to me.

The context of this consultation is that the 2007 Act provides that before any proposal is implemented I must consult any council affected by the proposal that did not make it and any other persons I consider appropriate. Once the consultation is concluded, I will decide, subject to parliamentary approval, which, if any, proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification. In taking these decisions I will have regard to all the representations I have received, including those from the consultation, and all other relevant information available to me, and reach a judgement in the round assessing the proposals against the criteria in the invitation – whether it achieves for the whole of the area concerned the establishment of a single tier of local government; whether the councils are the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks; whether the unitary structures prioritise the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services to citizens; whether councils in the area have sought to work together to come to a view that meets local needs and is informed by local views; whether new unitary structures support devolution arrangements; and whether new unitary structures enable stronger community engagement and deliver genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment.

With regard to the submission from Borough Councils of Reigate and Banstead and Crawley, my view is that this does not meet the statutory requirements as the 2007 Act specifies that a council can only make one proposal and that a proposal must specify the area that it covers. For the same reasons and because the submission does not cover the whole of the invitation area, the submission does not meet the terms of the invitation. Further, it does not provide enough information for an assessment to be made as to whether all criteria would be met, and would require significant work to enable it to be resubmitted, causing delay in what was intended to be an accelerated process, essentially drafting a new timetable which would have the potential to see elections to the new unitary authorities delayed. As I have received two proposals which meet the statutory requirements and the terms of the invitation I have decided to take these to consultation. It is of course open to Borough Councils of Reigate and Banstead and Crawley to respond to the consultation. With reference to their desire for Gatwick Diamond economic area to be within the area of one Strategic Authority so as to best provide for economic growth, I would like to provide reassurance that Local Government Reorganisation in Surrey does not mean that this is not an option to be considered in the future, and I encourage councils in Surrey to continue to engage with their neighbours as they consider options in the short and medium term to secure devolution and the advantages it brings.