Surrey two-way split 'could fill funding gap'

COUNTY COUNCIL LEADER MAKES CLAIM BEFORE SHAKE-UP

- By EMILY DALTON

SPLITTING Surrey into two could fill the ever-widening gap for council funding, Surrey County Council leader Tim Oliver claims.

In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, June 26, the Surrey leader and councillor said he hoped local government reorganisation will provide a new opportunity to re-hash the old services onto new council bodies, but innovate how they are delivered to residents.

He said: “Looking at reorganisation, looking at what savings can be delivered, will be really important to hopefully completely fill the gap we're likely to see as a result of the Fair Funding Review.”

Last week, the Government launched its consultation across Surrey for the two competing submission for changing councils structures: one option is to divide Surrey into East and West unitary authorities, and the other is to split the county into three, North, East and West.