The Surrey County Council cabinet met on 23 September 2025, and agreed to consult on ceasing the Twelve15 catering service, approved a youth justice plan, and discussed devolution and local government reorganisation. They also approved a school basic need strategy, and the reprovision of the Bookham Community Centre. Finally, they agreed to submit a bid for funding from Active Travel England¹.

Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation

The cabinet received an update on Surrey’s Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation (D&LGR) programme. Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, had written to the council confirming his intention to move forward with the reorganisation.

The government is expected to announce in October 2025 which unitary proposal will be implemented. Following the decision, current Surrey councils will prepare for shadow elections in May 2026, with vesting day for the new unitary councils in April 2027. Legislation will be passed to set up transitionary arrangements, such as joint committees, to enable councils across Surrey to work in partnership to deliver a safe and legal transfer to the new structure.

The four pilot areas for the neighbourhood area committees are all different, and were chosen for that reason. The aim of these area committees is to give a voice to the local community.

Twelve15 Service Review

The cabinet approved a decision to consult on the preferred option to cease the Twelve15 Service at the end of the 2025/2026 academic year. The consultation period will be for 45 days with internal service staff, schools, service providers and other key stakeholders.

The Twelve15 Service has historically generated a return on investment (ROI), but the financial forecast indicates that an ROI is unsustainable in the medium term. The current forecast sees a trajectory of significant decreases in the net income to be achieved by the Twelve15 catering service, resulting in overall pressures against the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy planning assumptions.

Youth Justice Plan

The cabinet agreed the 2025/26 Youth Justice Plan and recommended its approval by the council at its meeting on 14 October 2025. Councillor Jonathan Hulley, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning quoted Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

we need to stop just pulling people out of the river we need to go upstream and find out why they fell in in the first place

The plan emphasises working collaboratively with a range of parties and partners including the police, the police and crime commissioner’s office, prison services, probation services and health partners. It has been endorsed by the Surrey Youth Justice Board. Key priorities in the 2025/26 plan cover quality assurance audits and performance disparity and also over representation. The plan also aims to tackle violence against women and girls, diversion projects and interventions designed to encourage young people away from committing crime in the first place. Another key element of this year's plan is an emphasis on victim support restorative justice measures.

School Basic Need Strategy

The cabinet approved the strategy and total capital funding for the council’s School Basic Need Capital Programme for 2025/26 to 2027/28, as identified in part 2 of the Part 1 Cabinet Report School Basic Need Strategy 2025.

The decision to embark on the expansion of schools is based on need. The current forecast of mainstream school places in Surrey indicates over a 10-year period a need for additional places. Between May 2010 and May 2024, 14,500 new primary places and just under 16,000 new primary places were provided. Between 2020 and 2024, 10,666 new secondary school places were provided. An additional 800 places for primary schools and 380 places for secondary schools are still needed to meet demand in 2026 and 2027.

Bookham Community Centre Reprovision

The cabinet agreed to the proposed re-development of the Bookham Community Centre at 164 Lower Road, a change in direction from the preferred location of the Lower Road Recreation Ground. They also acknowledged the risks associated with development of a designated green belt site².

The original former Bookham Youth Centre building was closed in 2019 and is beyond economic repair. The council has freehold ownership of the site. The proposed development replaces the existing building, the Bridge at North Leatherhead and Bookham Family Centre, creating fit-for-purpose multi-purpose community facilities.

Councillor Clare Curran thanked David Cox, chairman of the Bookham Youth and Community Centre trustees, who has shown tremendous persistence, resilience and enthusiasm and kept faith with this proposal for a very long time.

Active Travel England Consolidated Active Travel Fund 25/26 - Proposed Bid

The cabinet agreed to submit the Lower Sunbury Local Street Improvement package, along with the Road Safety Outside Schools programme to Active Travel England for funding consideration.

The proposed schemes are vital to improve local living and strengthen Surrey’s communities as outlined in the Local Transport Plan. Securing grant funding from Active Travel England (ATE) represents the most cost-effective and efficient means of implementing the walking and cycling improvements identified in the council’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and Local Streets Implementation (LSI) programme, both of which form an integral part of the Local Transport Plan and Healthy Streets approach.

Public Question on Junk Food Advertising

A member of the public, Olly Porter, asked what is preventing Surrey County Council from taking immediate action to restrict junk food advertising, rather than waiting for further reviews, especially when other councils across the country have already implemented similar measures.

Councillor Mark Nuti, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, and Public Health, responded that a lot of the council's advertising is over quite long contract times, with eight years being the norm. He said that the council is reviewing what advertising it has, and the harm this does, to put together a piece of work to go to the Advertising Standards Board to try and get or push forward for them to give some legislation around what can and can't be advertised. He also noted that a lot of the advertising around the county is not controlled by Surrey County Council, but by borough and district councils. He said that as local government reform goes forward, a lot of that will come in-house to the new unitary councils, who will have more control over the total advertising's public space that you see around Surrey.

Other Matters

• The cabinet noted the reports from the Select Committees.
• The cabinet noted the decisions taken since the last cabinet meeting.
• The cabinet noted the cabinet member of the month update.
• Councillor Jonathan Hulley, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, noted a decision he took on 22 July to expand Portisbury School onto a nearby satellite site at the current Deepcut community center, increasing school places from 105 to 142 places.
• The cabinet noted that 11 schemes have been selected as part of the countywide Its fund.
• The cabinet received an update on the financial report, which is forecasting an overspend on the revenue budget of £4.7 million.