Minister rejects legislative route for West Surrey name change, tells shadow authority to seek legal advice
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A request to amend a structural changes order to allow the future West Surrey unitary council to be renamed has been rejected by the Local Government Minister.
West Surrey Shadow Authority backed a motion in July to adopt the name West Surrey and South Middlesex Council.
The authority is one of two shadow councils due to replace Surrey’s existing county and district councils in 2027 under local government reorganisation plans.
It asked the Government to amend the Surrey (Structural Changes Order) 2026 to reflect the proposed name change.
However, Local Government Minister Jim McMahon has told the authority that amending the order would not be an appropriate way to change its name.
The order itself was laid before Parliament in January but has yet to come into force.
In a letter to the authority’s leader, Cllr Paul Follows, McMahon said the supplementary legislation required could not be introduced until Parliament had approved the Surrey reorganisation order, which was not expected to happen until March 2027. This would come after a deadline Cllr Follows suggested of October 2026.
McMahon said the proposed amendment was therefore not an appropriate route, particularly as the council might be able to change its name under the Local Government Act 1972.
The letter said: “The Secretary of State has no role in a decision of a council to change its name by resolution under the Local Government Act 1972, save for receiving notice following a resolution to do so.”
It added that the authority might wish to seek legal advice on whether it could change its name under the Act, or use a different name for branding and other operational purposes without a formal legal change.
McMahon said: “I do not consider amending a Structural Changes Order to be an appropriate route for changing a council's name, especially as the advice I've received indicates that there is a more direct route for the council to take.”
Cllr Follows told the BBC the letter was “disappointing” and that the authority had “begun exploring our legal options”.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “West Surrey Council has the power to change its own name to include Middlesex if it chooses to do so, and we’ve set this out in a letter to them.”
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