On 14 and 15 April 2026, councillors from the East Surrey and West Surrey Joint Committees met for their penultimate meetings.
These meetings focused on the continuing preparations for local government reorganisation and on passing this work to the new shadow councils, which will be formed after the May elections.
The Joint Committees first met in January 2026 to begin the early planning work needed for the move to two councils in Surrey from 1 April 2027. At their latest meetings they considered key parts of Surrey’s single implementation plan designed to make sure the new councils are ready to serve residents from day one. This included arrangements for:
Managing council finances
To make sure the new East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council start on a strong and stable footing, detailed work is underway to manage finances during the transition. This includes setting balanced budgets for the first year, putting strong financial controls in place, and making sure systems for paying suppliers, council tax setting and managing income for example, are in place.
Communicating clearly with residents and partners
Clear and trusted communication is essential to support Surrey’s move to the new East Surrey and West Surrey councils. The Committees endorsed communications plans to explain what is happening, what it means for residents and partners, and when things will change in a clear, open and consistent way. A shared interim identity, Future Surrey has been established to communicate with one clear voice on behalf of all councils during the transition, which includes Frequently Asked Questions such as why is the change happening?, what will change for me?, councils locations, will my bin be emptied on the same day?
Protecting information
Protecting people’s personal information is a vital part of the transition to the new East Surrey and West Surrey councils. Strong information governance arrangements are being built in from the start to make sure data is handled safely, responsibly and in line with the legal obligations.
Meeting our equality duties
Making sure the move to the new East Surrey and West Surrey councils is fair and inclusive is a key part of the transition. Equality checks will be built into decision‑making to make sure changes do not disadvantage any groups and that legal equality duties are met. This helps ensure the new councils are shaped in a way that treats everyone fairly.
The proposed Constitutions for the new councils
After the May elections, East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council will move into a “shadow period” to prepare for formally taking over on 1 April 2027. During this time, council services will continue as normal, while the shadow councils put clear leadership and decision‑making arrangements in place.
At their first meetings, each shadow council will be asked to agree its Constitution. A Constitution is a council’s rule book, setting out how it works, who makes decisions, the powers of councillors and officers, how the public can get involved - it is required by law for every council in England.
The draft Constitutions for East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council considered by the Joint Committees, includes information on electing a Leader and setting up a Shadow Executive. This group will take on the key decisions during the transition, such as appointing senior officers and setting budgets, to make sure the new councils are fully ready to serve residents. From 1 April 2027, the shadow councils will become the full councils, taking on responsibility for running all council services.
More information
You can view the Joint Committee meeting papers, the full list of councillors for each committee and the webcasts:
The Joint Committees will meet for a final time on 11 May 2026 at the Guildford Borough Council office, before the East Surrey and West Surrey shadow councils hold their first official meetings later in May 2026.