Alison McGovern, the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness, has written to the Commissioners at Spelthorne Borough Council and Woking Borough Council to define their remit during the next phase of Surrey’s restructuring. The correspondence, published on 28 October 2025, follows the Secretary of State’s decision the same day to move ahead with two new unitary councils in Surrey, subject to Parliament.
McGovern confirms Commissioners will remain central to preparations, operating as an experienced senior leadership team that provides advice, oversight and mentoring. Commissioners may also be invited to participate in, or support, an Implementation Team to be established by Surrey councils. Under the draft Structural Changes Order, that team will support Joint Committees and then the newly elected councils after May 2026.
The Minister states that legal powers and obligations are unchanged during transition. Officials will circulate a draft Structural Changes Order that would, if made, require the future ‘shadow authorities’ to have regard to Commissioners’ reports and each council’s Improvement and Recovery Plan. This places the existing interventions within the formal governance of the shadow period.
Ministers also propose excluding Spelthorne and Woking from the standard Section 24 direction normally applied ahead of structural change. Section 24 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 restricts disposals and contracts above specified thresholds-typically £100,000 for land and £1,000,000 for capital contracts-unless consent is obtained from the designated body. McGovern argues an exemption would avoid duplicate consent where Commissioners already oversee commercial decisions.
Commissioners are asked to keep improvement programmes on track, support financial recovery and agree protocols for working with the future unitary authority on key decisions. In Woking, this aligns with the Government’s in‑principle commitment to repay £500 million of council debt in 2026–27, subject to further assurance, asset rationalisation progress and the Local Government Finance Settlement.
The Secretary of State’s decision letter confirms East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council as the model and sets a working assumption of shadow elections in May 2026 and vesting day on 1 April 2027, subject to Parliamentary approval. The published geography places Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking in West Surrey, and Elmbridge, Epsom & Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate & Banstead and Tandridge in East Surrey.
To support delivery county‑wide, John Metcalfe has been appointed as a sector adviser. Unlike Commissioners, he holds no decision‑making powers; his role is to help produce a robust Implementation Plan owned by all Surrey councils, drawing on experience from Cumbria’s reorganisation.
Timelines are explicit. Officials will share a draft Order with chief executives for factual corrections by 7 November, and a draft Section 24 direction for representations by 21 November, including the proposed exclusion for Spelthorne and Woking. Councils are encouraged to establish Joint Committees and the Implementation Team on a voluntary basis to maximise the implementation window ahead of May 2026.
This guidance sits alongside existing interventions at both authorities. Government collections describe the statutory basis for the Woking intervention and the Best Value intervention at Spelthorne; McGovern’s letter indicates these arrangements will continue during transition, with shadow authorities required to consider Commissioner reports and improvement plans once established.
Ministers also signal further structural alignment. The decision letter outlines intent to establish, subject to statutory tests and local consent, a strategic authority for functions best delivered at county scale-such as transport and adult skills-with fire and rescue governance remaining on the same geography.