Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has held the majority.[5] The leader of the council is Tim Oliver.[6]
Surrey County Council | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Non-metropolitan council |
| Leadership | |
Chair of the Council | Helyn Clack, Conservative |
Leader of the Council | Tim Oliver, Conservative since 11 December 2018 |
Chief Executive | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 81 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post[2] | |
Last election | 6 May 2021[2] |
Next election | 1 May 2025 |
| Meeting place | |
| Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, RH2 8EF[3][4] | |
| Website | |
| www | |
History
Formation
Surrey County Council was created in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, which established the county council local government system in England and Wales. It replaced the Surrey Quarter Sessions for local government functions in the administrative county of Surrey. The council was originally headquartered in Newington where the quarter sessions court had been located.[7] However it moved to County Hall, Kingston upon Thames in 1893 as Newington and the part of Surrey that had been in the Metropolitan Board of Works district had become part of the County of London in 1889.[8]
Kingston upon Thames became part of Greater London in 1965, but the headquarters remained there. In November 2019 Surrey County Council announced that the headquarters would relocate to Woking.[9] The move to Woking was scrapped in 2020;[10] a move to Reigate was announced instead.[11] The council held its first full council meeting at its new premises at Woodhatch Place in Reigate in May 2021.[12]
Post-1974
The Local Government Act 1972 led to Surrey becoming a non-metropolitan county.[13][14]
Responsibilities
The council is responsible for a number of local public services in Surrey. These include the standard responsibilities of county councils in England and Wales such as transport and highway management, waste disposal (but not collection) and education.[15]
District and borough councils
There are 11 borough or district councils that govern at a more local level than Surrey County Council.[16]
- Elmbridge Borough Council
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council
- Guildford Borough Council
- Mole Valley District Council
- Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
- Runnymede Borough Council
- Spelthorne Borough Council
- Surrey Heath Borough Council
- Tandridge District Council
- Waverley Borough Council
- Woking Borough Council
Elections
The public have elected a majority of Conservative councillors to its political body since 1965, with one exception — from 1993 to 1997 a status of no overall control in the declared affiliations of councillors prevailed.[17]
The most recent 2021 election altered the composition of the council chamber and committees to a total of: 47 Conservatives, 14 Liberal Democrats, 12 residents association councillors, 4 independent councillora, and 2 councillors each from Labour and the Green Party.[18]
The next elections will take place in May 2025.
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.[19]
References
- ^ "New chief executive starts at Surrey County Council". Surrey News. 5 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Election results declared". 5 May 2017.
- ^ "127 year chapter of history comes to an end as Surrey County Council moves home". Get Surrey. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "Council Offices". Surrey County Council. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ^ "Tories increase power in county amid UKIP wins". 3 June 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ "Tim Oliver announced as new leader of SCC's Conservative group". 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Surrey History : Exploring Surrey's past - County Hall, Kingston". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ Peter Ward (31 May 2011). . Archived from the original on 20 March 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ Surrey County Council (1 November 2019). "Surrey County Council moves to Woking". Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus forces county council to pull out of Woking HQ move". 23 April 2020.
- ^ "County council base will be in Surrey for first time in 55 years". 15 October 2020.
- ^ "County Council minutes, 25 May 2021" (PDF). Surrey County Council. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ^ "Surrey County Council". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ Peter Reed (2006). "Surrey". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ Nicola Morris (24 May 2011). "County district and parish council functions". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ Web Operations Team (11 October 2011). "District and borough councils". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ "Elections 2009 - Surrey council". 5 June 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ "County Council Election 2021 - Thursday, 6 May 2021". Surrey County Council. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL". Robert Young. Retrieved 31 October 2019.