Principle 5 – Secures financial efficiency, resilience and the ability to withstand financial shocks

Costs of LGR transition

We have explored the costs involved in moving to two and three unitary authorities. The costs are split between three key stages of transition:

  • Planning and pre-planning: the period until April 2026 where authorities will collaborate and consult on proposals.
  • Shadow: where we prepare for change, align systems and processes and establish the new shadow authorities
  • Implementation: where we will fully implement the proposals and move to unitary authorities.
  • The figures in the table below are indicative costs, based on assumptions in the Surrey CC PwC report and examples of LGR from elsewhere, with some inflationary adjustments and adjustments to reflect Surrey-specific circumstances.

Implementation costs

Implementation Costs £m
  2 unitaries 3 unitaries

Cost category

Implementation

Implementation

Redundancy and early retirement

10.6

8

Implementation and programme delivery

9.5

12.9

IT consolidation and change

23.2

24.8

Branding and communications

1.3

1.9

Shadow authority(ies)

3

3.2

Creation of new council(s)

2.8

3.4

Closedown of old councils

1.9

1.9

Elections to shadow authorities

3.3

3.4

Total Implementation costs

55.6

59.5
  • The costs of implementation are slightly higher for three unitaries than for two, due to increased costs of programme delivery and IT consolidation. This is partially offset by the lower costs of redundancy for the three-unitary option.
  • Our calculations also assume:
    • Redundancy costs assume 5% and 3.5% reduction in staffing for two and three unitaries respectively.
    • Shadow costs include all member basic allowances, additional cabinet allowances and Head of Paid Service costs
    • Comms and engagement costs rely heavily on use of internal resource rather than external.
    • Reorganisation ICT costs exclude staffing.