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RESOLVED:
 

That Cabinet approves the drafted
response to the government’s consultation on Local Government
Reorganisation in Surrey, to be jointly submitted by Surrey County
Council, Elmbridge Borough Council and Mole Valley District
Council.  

That Cabinet agrees the Leader of
Surrey County Council submits the joint consultation response to
government ahead of the 5 August deadline.

That Cabinet delegates authority to
make any final amendments to the consultation response (and other
associated information) for Local Government Reorganisation in
Surrey to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of
the Council, before submission within the deadline given by the
government.   

 
Reasons for
Decisions:
 
Before implementing an LGR proposal, the
Secretary of State is required to consult any local authority
affected by the proposal (but which has not submitted it) and any
such other persons as considered appropriate. Following the
submission of LGR proposals by Surrey local authorities on 9 May
2025, a statutory consultation on two proposals from Surrey
authorities was launched by government on 17 June and will run
until 5 August.
 
Surrey County Council, as one of the local
authorities affected by the proposal for 3 unitary authorities, has
been invited to submit a consultation response. The drafted
response, which has been co-produced and will be jointly submitted
with Elmbridge Borough Council and Mole Valley District Council, is
annexed to the report (Annex 1) and Cabinet is asked to approve
this for submission. As one of the lead authorities on the 2
unitary proposal, Surrey County Council has not been invited by
government to respond to that proposal. 
 
(The decisions on
this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select
Committee)