Surrey County Council Explained

Surrey County Council
Coa Pic:Surrey shield.svg
Coa Res:100px
Logo Pic:Surrey County Council.svg
Logo Res:220px
House Type:Non-metropolitan county
Leader1 Type:Chair
Leader1:Saj Hussain
Party1:
Conservative
Election1:23 May 2023
Leader2 Type:Leader
Leader2:Tim Oliver
Party2:
Conservative
Election2:11 December 2018
Leader3 Type:Chief Executive (interim)
Leader3:Michael Coughlin
Election3:1 June 2024[1]
Seats:81 councillors
Structure1:File:Surrey CC 2024.svg
Structure1 Res:250px
Political Groups1:
Administration (44)
  • Conservative (44)
    Other parties (37)
  • Residents (13)
  • Independent (4)
  • Labour (2)
  • Green (2)
  • Term Length:4 years
    Voting System1:First past the post[2]
    Last Election1:6 May 2021
    Next Election1:1 May 2025
    Session Room:Woodhatch Place, Reigate.jpg
    Meeting Place:Woodhatch Place, 11Cockshot Hill, Reigate, RH28EF[3] [4]

    Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority.[5] The leader of the council is Tim Oliver.[6]

    History

    Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over many administrative functions which had been performed by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. In Surrey's case, most such functions in the north-east of the county had already passed to the Metropolitan Board of Works, which had been established in 1856 to administer the urban area of London.[7] Under the 1888 Act, the Metropolitan Board of Works' area became the new County of London. The then borough of Croydon lay outside the County of London, but was considered large enough to run county-level services and so it was made a county borough. Surrey County Council was elected by and provided services to the rest of the county, which area was termed the administrative county.[8] [9]

    The first elections to the county council were held in January 1889 and it formally came into being on 1 April 1889. On that day it held its first official meeting at the Sessions House in Newington, which had been the meeting place of the Surrey Quarter Sessions since 1791. Co-incidentally, it was also near Waterloo station, a major hub for the railways serving Surrey. Sessions House was in the area that had transferred from Surrey to the new county of London. The first chairman was Edward Leycester-Penrhyn, who had been chairman of the quarter sessions since 1861.[10] [11]

    In 1965, the London Government Act 1963 abolished the existing county of London and replaced it with the larger Greater London, which took over more territory in the north-east of Surrey, including Richmond, Kingston-upon-Thames, Wimbledon and Sutton. At the same time, Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames were transferred to Surrey from Middlesex. In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 designated Surrey a non-metropolitan county.[12] Prior to the 1974 reforms the lower tier of local government had comprised numerous municipal boroughs, urban districts and rural districts; these were reorganised into eleven non-metropolitan districts.[13]

    Governance

    Surrey County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the eleven district councils:

    Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[14] [12]

    Political control

    The county council has been under Conservative majority control since 1997.

    Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[15] [16]

    Party in control Years
    1974–1993
    1993–1997
    1997–present

    Leadership

    The leaders of the council since 1997 have been:[17]

    Councillor Party From To
    Nick Skellett[18] 1997 23 Jun 2009
    Andrew Povey 23 Jun 2009 11 Oct 2011
    11 Oct 2011 11 Dec 2018
    Tim Oliver 11 Dec 2018

    Composition

    Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to January 2024, the composition of the council was:

    PartyCouncillors
    44
    16
    4
    4
    4
    3
    2
    2
    2
    Total81

    The various residents' associations and three of the four independent councillors sit together as a group.[19] The next election is due in 2025.

    Elections

    See also: Surrey County Council elections. Since the last boundary changes in 2013 the county has been divided into 81 electoral divisions, each of which elects one councillor. Elections are held every four years.[20]

    Premises

    The council is based at Woodhatch Place in Reigate. The main building there was built in 1999 as the headquarters of Canon (UK) Limited; the complex also includes a large Georgian house. Woodhatch Place was bought by the council in 2020 and converted to become its headquarters including council chamber and committee rooms.[21] The venue's first full council meeting took place in May 2021.[22]

    The council was first headquartered in Newington where the Surrey Quarter Sessions court had been held since 1791.[23] The council moved to a purpose-built headquarters at County Hall, Kingston upon Thames in 1893.[24]

    Kingston became part of Greater London in 1965. Despite it no longer being in their administrative area, the council continued to be based at County Hall for another 56 years. In November 2019 Surrey County Council planned it would relocate to Woking.[25] The move to Woking was scrapped in 2020;[26] a move to Reigate was announced instead.[27]

    Coat of arms

    The escutcheon is described as 'Per pale Azure and Sable two Keys in bend wards upwards and outwards bows interlaced Or between in dexter base a Woolpack and in sinister chief a Sprig of Oak fructed Argent', with the badge 'On a Roundel per pale Azure and Sable in chief a Sprig of Oak fructed Argent and in base two Keys [in saltire] wards upwards and outwards Or'. These arms were granted in 1974.[28]

    Notes and References

    1. News: Jameson . Heather . Surrey appoints Coughlin as interim chief . 21 July 2024 . The MJ . 28 May 2024.
    2. Web site: Election results declared. 5 May 2017.
    3. News: 127 year chapter of history comes to an end as Surrey County Council moves home. 23 December 2020. Get Surrey. 3 May 2021.
    4. Web site: Council Offices . Surrey County Council . 24 March 2022.
    5. Web site: Tories increase power in county amid UKIP wins. 3 June 2009. 5 May 2013.
    6. Web site: Tim Oliver announced as new leader of SCC's Conservative group. 23 November 2018.
    7. [Metropolis Management Act 1855]
    8. act. Local Government Act 1888. 1888. 41. 27 August 2023.
    9. Web site: Diagram of the County of Surrey, 1900 . National Library of Scotland . Ordnance Survey . 8 January 2024.
    10. News: Surrey County Council . 8 January 2024 . Wallington and Carshalton Herald . 6 April 1889 . 3.
    11. News: Mr E. H. Leycester-Penrhyn . 8 January 2024 . Evening Mail . 20 January 1919 . London . 5.
    12. act. Local Government Act 1972. 1972. 70. 22 October 2023.
    13. si. The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972. 1972. 2039. 22 October 2023.
    14. Web site: Election Maps . Ordnance Survey . 17 October 2023.
    15. Web site: Compositions calculator . The Elections Centre . 3 March 2023.
    16. Web site: Elections 2009 – Surrey council. 5 June 2009. 15 October 2011.
    17. Web site: Council minutes . Surrey County Council . 11 July 2022.
    18. News: Council leader collects his CBE . 11 July 2022 . BBC News . 18 December 2008.
    19. Web site: Your councillors by political grouping . Surrey County Council . 8 January 2024.
    20. si. The Surrey (Electoral Changes) Order 2012. 2012. 1872. 8 January 2024.
    21. News: Surrey County Council set to be based in Surrey for first time in 55 years. 5 October 2020. Get Surrey. 20 May 2021. 3 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210303204444/https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/surrey-county-council-set-based-19102357. live.
    22. Web site: County Council minutes, 25 May 2021 . Surrey County Council . 24 March 2022.
    23. Web site: Surrey History : Exploring Surrey's past – County Hall, Kingston. 15 October 2011.
    24. Web site: County Hall. 31 May 2011. Peter Ward. 15 October 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070320115632/http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/County+Hall?opendocument. 20 March 2007.
    25. Web site: Surrey County Council moves to Woking. 1 November 2019. Surrey County Council. 25 September 2020.
    26. Web site: Coronavirus forces county council to pull out of Woking HQ move. 23 April 2020.
    27. Web site: County council base will be in Surrey for first time in 55 years. 15 October 2020.
    28. Web site: SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL . Robert Young . 31 October 2019.