Whitehall has formally signed off the biggest change to Surrey’s local government in decades. The Surrey (Structural Changes) Order 2026, made on 9 March and in force from the following day, creates two unitary authorities-East Surrey and West Surrey-abolishing Surrey County Council and all 11 borough and district councils on 1 April 2027. West covers Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking; East covers Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate & Banstead and Tandridge.

Under the Order, whole‑council elections for the two new authorities take place on the ordinary day of election in 2026. The councils will then operate in “shadow” form until March 2027, building budgets and standing up services for day one. From April 2027 residents and businesses will deal with a single council per side of the county for adult social care, highways, bins, planning, parking and more.

Two joint committees-one for East, one for West-must be created within 14 days of the Order to run the transition, with county and district nominees in equal numbers. A single Implementation Team must be formed within 21 days and led by Surrey’s Chief Executive. Their immediate task is an Implementation Plan to map service transfers and align assets and liabilities-think contract registers, depots, IT, payroll and property-into the new operating model.

The West Surrey committee is required to have explicit regard to Woking Borough Council’s external assurance review and subsequent Commissioners’ reports, and Spelthorne Borough Council’s Best Value inspection and ministerial directions. That emphasis points to a tighter grip on risk, debt and decision‑making during the move to unitary scale, reflecting lessons from recent interventions.

Procurement is where most suppliers will feel the shift first. Two unitaries will replace a dozen separate procurement functions, bringing larger aggregated contracts, fewer frameworks and more standardised terms. Expect highways maintenance, waste, IT, social care, leisure and professional services to be rebased onto East‑wide or West‑wide lots, with pre‑market engagement throughout the shadow year.

For incumbents, the Order provides for the transfer of functions, property, rights and liabilities on 1 April 2027. In practice, that means contracts and purchase orders should be novated to East Surrey Council or West Surrey Council, with continuity prioritised while retenders are scheduled. A domiciliary care provider working across Reigate & Banstead, for example, would move to East Surrey as the commissioning authority from 2027.

Council tax is likely to converge to a single schedule in each new area rather than varying by the 11 predecessor districts. Harmonisation typically happens over multiple years to smooth bill changes, so households in lower‑tax districts could see faster uplifts while higher‑tax areas may flatten. The adult social care precept would sit with the new unitary responsible for care budgets.

Governance during the shadow period is tightly defined. Each shadow authority must adopt a leader‑and‑cabinet model at its first meeting and appoint interim statutory officers-monitoring officer, chief finance officer and head of paid service-before permanent appointments by 31 December 2026. Staff delivering county and district functions are expected to transfer to the new councils for day one, with consultation and organisational design run through the Implementation Plan.

Elections to Surrey County Council and the existing boroughs are cancelled in 2026, with current councillors’ terms ending on 1 April 2027. The new East and West councils are elected in 2026 on ward boundaries aligned to the 2024 electoral changes, serve until 2031 and then move to four‑year cycles. By‑election rules are tightened in late 2026 to reduce churn ahead of vesting day.

The official note says the instrument has no direct impact on business costs. For suppliers, the practical impact is a bigger customer with one specification per side of the county, wider competition at retender and potentially longer contract terms. Payment practice and social value weighting will be set at unitary level, which could raise thresholds in some categories while simplifying onboarding in others.

For finance watchers, the governance references are the tell. Woking’s debt‑fuelled investment problems and Spelthorne’s Best Value issues are explicitly built into the transition brief, signalling more conservative treasury strategies, stricter gateways for capital projects and closer scrutiny once the new cabinets are up and running.

What should businesses do now? Map any live Surrey‑related contracts, note expiry and extension points, and be ready with performance data for market‑warming. Register for the new councils’ procurement portals as soon as they are announced, track joint committee papers for pipeline clues, and stress‑test pricing for consolidated lots. Day one is 1 April 2027; the groundwork starts immediately.