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HUGE SHAKE-UP IN SERVICE PROVISION
How local services will be provided to Claygate residents is changing in the biggest shake-up of local government in decades. Responding to Government policy, Surrey County Council proposes to replace itself with two unitary authorities - East Surrey and West Surrey-with the abolition of itself and the existing 11 district councils.
Its plan to divide Surrey into two would see Elmbridge Borough become part of a new authority covering the eastern half of the county, with Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge.
Surrey's proposals involve retaining the existing county council electoral divisions in the new unitary authorities, which would give East Surrey 36 electoral divisions. Across Surrey, there are currently 81 county councillors and 453 district and borough councillors. Dividing the county into two would reduce this to 162 in total with, on average, 5,542 electors per councillor.
But these radical reforms are complex-and controversial. On these pages, Parish Councillor Michael Collon considers the implications for democracy, devolution and delivery of services.
When we talk about "the Government" we usually mean central government in Westminster-but a lot of governing is actually done locally, in some parts, particularly large metropolitan areas, there is one level of local government dealing with matters devolved from national government, such as social services, running schools, and managing highways.
But in much of the country there are two tiers of local government: county councils (in our case Surrey), responsible for matters such as education, fire, highways, transport, and social care, and below that district councils fin our case Elmbridge Borough Council) whose responsibilities include environmental health, housing and planning.
But this creates anomalies: Elmbridge is responsible for waste collection, but Surrey for waste disposal; Surrey for libraries but Elmbridge for leisure.
The Government wants to merge them and so is combining the functions of Surrey County Council and its 11 district councils and replacing them with two, or possibly even three, new councils.
The solution preferred by Surrey and Elmbridge is to have two-East Surrey and West Surrey unitary authorities. Some district councils would like to see three unitary authorities, with Elmbridge joining Spelthorne and Runnymede as North Surrey. The Government will decide-and by May 2027 Elmbridge will be history: Claygate will (most probably) be governed by the unitary authority of East Surrey, which will have all the responsibilities now divided between Surrey and Elmbridge.
BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES
The Government believes this reorganisation will be beneficial, as does Surrey County Council, which says it will save money and offer better value for tax payers, with
stable finances protecting vital services. Surrey also believes it will simplify services, delivering what residents need to a high quality, with fewer points of contact and reduced confusion about which council does what.
Well, maybe. Every local government reorganisation since the major one in 1972 was going to save money, but none has. The simplification of services certainly helps those who provide them, and sometimes those who need them, but "fewer points of contact" means dealing with people you don't know, who don't know you.
The Parish Council currently has excellent relations with the officers of Elmbridge: we know who does what, we know them and they know us, they are close to Claygate and understand our problems even if they can't always solve them. Will that continue with the new East Surrey? The Government believes in devolution-transferring more powers from central to local government. This may happen when the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill becomes law, but it is not happening through this reorganisation.
On the contrary, moving from 12 councils to two means fewer councillors with bigger wards and looser links to the communities they represent. In the past, larger constituencies have invariably led to lower turnout at local elections, more councillors from the larger parties and fewer from the small parties, or from residents associations, or independents. This makes it more likely that the political complexion of the unitary authority will match that of central Government, making it easier for ministers to have their policies implemented at grass roots level. This is not devolution.
CLAYGATE PARISH COUNCIL
Parish councils do not govern, and are therefore not part of the reorganisation. But this does not mean that we will not change. We will be working with different people in a different structure, and this is bound to affect what we do and how we do it. What you can be sure of is that we will continue to work for the people of Claygate to achieve what is best for them.
The Surrey County Council website says that the reorganisation "will strengthen our local communities by connecting people through Neighbourhood Area Committees in towns and villages". Nobody yet knows much about these committees.
Officers are now working on a pilot for East Elmbridge. They aim to form committees each covering about 50,000 people, so that Claygate (population 7,263) would be in the same "neighbourhood" as Cobham, Esher and further north. Each committee is likely to have 21 members, drawn from different backgrounds, and appointed by the unitary authority.
We do know from the Surrey website that "NACs are not constituted so they do not have direct decision-making powers. They will act as advisory bodies sharing local intelligence and insight with decision making organisations." If they are not constituted they cannot have financial powers, so it is not clear who will provide even the basic infrastructure and running costs.
Of course your Parish Council can do all this already. But our members are not appointed: they are elected by you, they are financed by you, they have decision-making powers, and they know the community well. In Elmbridge, there is only one Parish Council — in Claygate — but in Surrey as a whole there are almost 90. It remains to be seen what a Neighbourhood Area Committee can add to the "devolution" story.
