Surrey as a Unitary Authority - What kind of a Response is this?

 What a mind-numbing banal response!

Response:

“As I have said previously and consistently, what is most important to
me, beyond any structural change or governance, is our residents, their
priorities and giving them more influence over their own communities. I
want Surrey to be a uniquely special place where we address health
inequalities and grow a sustainable economy from which everyone can
benefit; that has a greener future and empowered communities and where no
one is left behind.

Surrey County Council, working with its partners, has over the past year
amply demonstrated a real and knowledgeable concern for and strong
relationships with local communities and residents. Sitting as full
Council, Cabinet and Scrutiny Committees, with Divisional Members and staff
working tirelessly in people’s homes, neighbourhoods, villages, and
towns, we have more than risen to the challenge for our 1.2m residents
across the County. We will continue to do so as we move from tackling the
pandemic to focusing on economic recovery and building back better. The
Residents of Surrey want local government to deliver the best services they
can and to keep council tax as low as possible, but the current two tier
system can often cause confusion for residents who are unclear as to which
authority is ultimately responsible.

Further to the Minister’s announcement on 3 July 2020 that there was to
be a Devolution and Recovery White Paper in the Autumn, I wrote to the
Government to set out our ambition for Surrey and our wish to engage with
Government on the reforms needed to ensure its achievement 

As a consequence of not being invited by the Government to submit a
business case for change and the urgent priority of tackling the pandemic
in Surrey, I have made it crystal clear that Surrey County Council stopped
all work on submitting a business case in October 2020.

The Leaders of the 11 District and Borough Councils in Surrey commissioned
a report from KPMG which recognised that the current system of local
government is not sustainable. As well as exploring unitarisation for
Surrey, it identified a number of areas where authorities could deliver
savings through greater collaboration. Indeed it has become very apparent
during the current budget process that many District and Boroughs have
insufficient funds to deliver their services and many are having to use
reserves which cannot provide a long term solution.

The County Council has a strong track record in recent years of
transforming and improving services and driving out efficiencies in service
delivery and is ready to engage with any proposals from the District and
Borough Councils that will deliver better and improved services to our
residents and will potentially ultimately reduce their council tax.”

Mr Tim Oliver
Leader of the Council
18 March 2021