Windsor MP Jack Rankin called on the Local Government Minister, Jim McMahon to safeguard the Surrey villages of Englefield Green and Virginia Water in his constituency from historic Council debts as part of the Government’s plans for local government reorganisation in the county.
It follows a letter from Mr McMahon to Council leaders confirming that the start of the reorganisation consultation process was anticipated to begin over June and July.
In his question, Rankin referenced both Woking and Spelthorne Borough Councils, which are facing £2.6 billion and £1.1 billion in debts respectively. As reported by SurreyLive in May, the Liberal Democrat leader of `Woking Borough Council said to fellow Councillors that “I am sorry, there is no money.”
In the House of Commons, Rankin asked: “I'm broadly supportive of unitarisation at a strategic scale, but I'm concerned, in the case of Surrey, of how historic debt will be treated, particularly pertaining to Woking and Spelthorne councils.
Will the Minister outline how, as our councils come together, historic debts will be treated and offer assurances to my constituents in Virginia Water and Englefield Green, in well-run Runnymede Borough, that they won't foot the bill for this as part of reorganisation?”
The Minister replied:
“Well, this precisely was one of the reasons why Surrey was accelerated, because we recognise that the debt liability there versus the assets and incomes just didn't balance.
We recognise that in building new unitaries, they have to be financially viable, and we're well on track to delivering that in partnership with the local councils.”
Adding further detail in response to an earlier question, Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner confirmed that:
“We have committed to providing an initial amount of debt repayment support for [Councils that cannot manage significant amounts of unsupported debt] in 2026/27 ahead of the reorganisation and this is unprecedented support from government.”
