Shadow authorities are being established in Surrey as a temporary form of council to manage the transition to the new East and West councils . The shadow authorities will operate between the local elections in May 2026 and the formal start of the new councils on 1 April 2027, which is known as Vesting Day.
The councillors elected in May 2026 to East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council will initially sit as shadow councillors. This means they are preparing the new councils in advance, but they are not yet responsible for running services. From 1 April 2027, shadow councillors become full councillors with responsibility for services.
The role of shadow authorities
During the shadow period, the role of the shadow authority is to put everything in place so that the new councils are ready to assume responsibility of services smoothly in April 2027.
This includes:
agreeing the structure of the new councils
appointing senior officers such as the Chief Executive and finance officer
setting up governance arrangements
approving budgets and council constitutions
agreeing how the councils will operate once they formally begin
This work is essential to make sure that services continue without disruption when responsibility transfers from the existing councils to the new East and West Surrey councils.
It is important to understand that shadow authorities will not run services. They do not make day‑to‑day service decisions and they do not manage individual casework on behalf of residents. Until 1 April 2027 their role is focused entirely on establishing the new organisations.
Current services
All council services continue to be delivered in the same way during the shadow year (May 2026 to March 2027).
Until 31 March 2027, services remain the responsibility of:
Surrey County Council, and
the existing district and borough councils
Your existing county, district and borough councillors remain responsible for service matters and for supporting residents with casework throughout.
Contacting councillors
During the shadow year, knowing who to contact depends on the type of question you have.
If your enquiry is about a day‑to‑day council service, or if you need help with a service issue, you should continue to contact your existing county, district or borough council or councillor, just as you do now.
If your question is about local government reorganisation, or about how the new East and West Surrey councils are being set up, you can contact your shadow councillor.
Shadow councillors can respond to questions about the creation of the new councils, but they cannot take on service‑related casework. Any enquiries about services delivered by the existing councils should not be sent to shadow councillors, instead local councillors can help you. You can find their details on your local council’s website.
To make sure new councillors have everything they need to start their role, official council email addresses will be set up after induction sessions take place.
Email addresses will be available:
- After Tuesday 12 May 2026 for East Surrey councillors
- After Wednesday 13 May 2026 for West Surrey councillors
If a councillor is unable to attend their induction, their email address will be set up after the first official (inaugural) council meetings. Until then residents can still contact the council through the usual channels and existing councillors will remain in post until 1 April 2027.
First meetings of the shadow authorities
The shadow authorities will meet for the first time at their council meetings, which is available to watch live.
The first meeting of the East Surrey Shadow Authority will take place on Wednesday 20 May 2026 in Reigate, and the West Surrey Shadow Authority will meet for the first time on Thursday 21 May 2026 in Guildford.
At these meetings, councillors are expected to appoint Leaders and executive cabinet members, agree key governance documents and formally begin the shadow authority period. Decisions about future council offices and headquarters will be made by councillors at a later stage.
Notice of decisions to be taken and forward plans
By law, the East and West Surrey shadow authority must publish information about the key decisions it plans to make, including any decisions that are due to be discussed in private, at least 28 days before they take place.