Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 34877 on Local Government: Reorganisation, for what reason Surrey’s unitary reorganisation has been placed on a quicker timetable than other two-tier areas.

As set out in the letter sent to Surrey leaders inviting them to develop proposals for local government reorganisation, given the urgency of creating sustainable unitary local government for Surrey, the decision was taken to work towards reorganisation to the most ambitious timeframe possible. This will also enable Surrey to benefit from devolution as quickly as possible once new unitary local government is in place.