The Surrey County Council met on Tuesday 14 July 2026 to discuss and review the Council's Constitution. The meeting's agenda was solely focused on the adoption and potential revision of this foundational document, which outlines the operational framework, decision-making processes, and procedural rules governing the Council's activities.

Constitution of the Council

The primary item scheduled for discussion was the Council's Constitution, a comprehensive document detailing how Surrey County Council operates, makes decisions, and ensures transparency and accountability. The report pack provided to attendees outlined the structure and content of the Constitution, which is divided into several parts:

• Part 1: Summary and Explanation: This section aimed to provide an overview of the Constitution's purpose and objectives, explaining how the Council operates, how decisions are made, and the roles of key components such as councillors, the Cabinet, and committees. It also detailed the public's rights in their dealings with the Council.
• Part 2: Articles of the Constitution: This part contained the core articles of the Constitution, covering topics such as the composition and eligibility of councillors, the roles and functions of all councillors, conduct, allowances, and publication. It also detailed the structure and responsibilities of the Council itself, the Leader and Deputy Leader, the Cabinet, Select Committees (including specific remits for Adults and Health, Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture, Communities, Environment and Highways, and Resources and Performance), Regulatory and Other Committees (such as the Planning and Regulatory Committee, Audit and Governance Committee, and the Health and Wellbeing Board), Local and Joint Committees, Officers (including the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer, and Chief Finance Officer), and Finance, Contracts and Legal Matters.
• Part 3: Responsibility for Functions and Scheme of Delegation: This section detailed how the Council's functions are allocated and delegated, outlining responsibilities for functions exercised only by the Council, those exercised by the Leader, and the responsibilities and functions of Select Committees and other Council committees. It also included the Leader's Scheme of Delegation and the overall Scheme of Delegation to Officers, specifying general and specific delegations.
• Part 4: Standing Orders: This part contained the rules governing the conduct of Council meetings, including procedures for meetings, order of business, questions, motions, debate, voting, and the appointment and conduct of committees. It also covered the Budget and Policy Framework, including processes for developing the budget, decisions outside the budget, urgent decisions, and call-in procedures for executive decisions. Specific scrutiny procedures were also outlined.
• Part 5: Rules of Procedure: This part included the Code of Corporate Governance, Financial Regulations, Financial Framework for Members' Community Allocations, Procurement and Contract Standing Orders, Risk Management Strategy, and Corporate Resilience Policy.
• Part 6: Codes and Protocols: This part contained various codes of conduct and protocols, including the Member Code of Conduct, Officer Code of Conduct, Member/Officer Protocol, Counter Fraud Strategy, Media and Publicity Protocol, and protocols for handling reports from Select Committees and scrutinising Council-owned companies. It also included protocols for granting dispensations and codes of best practice for planning and rights of way procedures.
• Part 7: Members' Allowances Scheme: This section detailed the scheme for Members' allowances, including Basic Allowance, Special Responsibility Allowances, Attendance Allowances, Travelling and Subsistence Allowance, Co-optees' Allowance, Childcare and Dependent Carers' Expenses, Pensions, Renunciation, Part-year Entitlements, Claims and Payments, and Suspension of Members' Allowances.
• Part 8: Management Structure: This part provided an overview of the Council's management structure, led by the Chief Executive, and outlined the functions and areas of responsibility for the Chief Executive and Executive Directors.

The report pack indicated that the meeting was scheduled to discuss the adoption of the Constitution, with specific articles and parts detailed for consideration. The documents provided, such as the Public reports pack Tuesday 14-Jul-2026 Constitution of the Council.pdf ¹ and the Agenda frontsheet Tuesday 14-Jul-2026 Constitution of the Council.pdf ², contained the full text of these constitutional articles and standing orders.