The Surrey County Council cabinet met on 24 June 2025, and among the items discussed was the Ofsted inspection of children's services, which were rated as 'good'. The cabinet also endorsed the School Organisation Plan 2025 and received an update on the Streetworks Taskforce. Members also discussed the ongoing reorganisation of local government in the county.

Ofsted Inspection of Children's Services

The cabinet received a report on the recent Ofsted inspection of Surrey's children's services, which took place in March 2025. Jonathan Hulley, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, noted that Ofsted had judged the overall effectiveness of Surrey's services for children and families to be 'good'.

The Ofsted report highlighted several strengths, including:

• Effective and responsive help and protection for most children in Surrey.
• Skilled social workers building relationships with children and parents.
• Stable homes for most children in care, where they thrive and make good progress.
• Timely work with other agencies to reduce risks to children at risk of significant harm.
• Positive relationships between personal advisers and care leavers.
• An impressive and motivated leadership team.
• Well-trained and committed staff who feel valued.

The report also identified three areas for improvement:

• Collaborative safety planning with children and families.
• The number of care leavers in education, training, and employment, and the equity of experiences for care leavers with regard to sufficiency of housing and the local offer.
• The embedding of the work of the central hub to ensure that protective responses to children who go missing or are at risk of exploitation are effective for every child, including children in care placed outside of Surrey.

The cabinet agreed to note the findings of the Ofsted inspection and the next steps outlined in the report.

School Organisation Plan 2025

The cabinet considered the Surrey School Organisation Plan 2025, covering the academic years from September 2025 to 2035. Jonathan Hulley, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, explained that the plan sets out the policies and principles underpinning both mainstream and specialist school organisation in Surrey. The plan highlights the likely demand for school places projected over a 10-year period and provides context as to how the educational landscape has changed and is likely to change in the future. The council has created over 10,000 additional places over the last five years in mainstream and specialist provision.

The cabinet agreed to endorse the School Organisation Plan 2025 and refer it to the council to approve its publication.

Streetworks Taskforce Update

Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Economic Growth, provided an update on the Streetworks Taskforce, which was set up in 2024 to reduce the impact of roadworks on residents. He explained that Surrey faces exceptional pressure with utility works, with approximately 72 works starting daily. The taskforce has been working to improve coordination, communication, and strategic planning between all parties.

Progress includes:

• Developing a shared mapping tool based on the tool developed by the Greater London Authority[^1]. [^1]: The Greater London Authority (GLA) is the devolved regional government for Greater London, which consists of a directly elected Mayor and a London Assembly.
• Utility providers agreeing to provide the council with lists of planned emergency works.
• Lobbying the Department for Transport for legislative changes.
• Increasing the number of live site streetworks inspections.
• Reducing the durations of works by utilities.
• Reducing resident enquires relating to emergency works.

The cabinet agreed to note the progress made to date on improved engagement with utilities through the Streetworks Taskforce and for this work to continue as business as usual within the Place Directorate.

Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation

The Leader of the Council, Tim Oliver OBE, provided an update on devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) in Surrey. He explained that the government has launched a seven-week consultation with stakeholders across Surrey to gather their views on two of the proposals:

• A proposal for two unitary authorities, supported by Elmbridge Borough Council, Mole Valley District Council, and Surrey County Council.
• A proposal for three unitary authorities, supported by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Guildford Borough Council, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, Runnymede Borough Council, Spelthorne Borough Council, Surrey Heath Borough Council, Tandridge District Council, Waverley Borough Council and Woking Borough Council.

The Leader stated that the council's submission for two unitaries would save money, be simpler for residents to understand, and strengthen the delivery of services. He also addressed the debt issue in Woking, stating that the government has recognised that the debt is of a size that it cannot be dealt with locally and that the irrecoverable debt should not be spread across the rest of the county.

The Leader also touched on the fair funding review, explaining that the government's assumptions assume a 5% increase in council tax each year for the next three years and that the review could mean less money for Surrey.

Finally, the Leader discussed neighbourhood area committees, which the government believes will enable stronger community engagement and deliver genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment. The council is setting up four pilot schemes to test how these committees will work.

The cabinet agreed to note the latest developments of Surrey's Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation programme.

Other Matters

• The cabinet noted decisions taken since the last meeting, including those related to extra school places as part of the SEND capital programme[^2] and approvals relating to a Your Fund Surrey application. [^2]: The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) capital programme is a government initiative to provide funding to local authorities to create new school places and improve existing facilities for children and young people with SEND.
• David Lewis, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, provided a Cabinet Member of the Month update.
• The cabinet discussed the development of five Surrey County Council sites for housing, including units allocated to adult social care for people with mental health needs.
• The cabinet considered a Your Fund Surrey application from St Peter's Shared Church in Guildford.
• The cabinet considered a Your Fund Surrey application from Shamley Green Village Hall in Waverley.
• The cabinet considered the 2024/25 financial outturn report.
• The cabinet agreed to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of certain items of business.
• The cabinet agreed that non-exempt information may be made available to the press and public, where appropriate.