Surrey Cabinet to consider Surrey Online School contract increase and receive financial update at October meeting

• Cabinet is due to consider raising the Surrey Online School contract spend limit by either £1 million or £2 million at its 27 October meeting, with the report noting that refusing to approve an increase risks higher costs through external provision.
• The council's Month 5 financial report, covering the position as at 31 August 2026, will also be considered.
• At the previous meeting in September, Cabinet approved £26.9 million of DfE capital funding for SEND provision, split between the future East and West Surrey unitary authorities ahead of vesting day on 1 April 2027.
• Cabinet also approved a revised Gypsy and Traveller Plot Allocation Policy following an Ombudsman review, and adopted a Local Transport Delivery Plan covering £265 million of Department for Transport funding through to 2029/30.
• The September financial report showed a forecast revenue overspend of £12.3 million, with Cabinet approving three grant-funded capital budget increases totalling £6 million.

Surrey County Council's Cabinet is due to consider two substantive reports at its meeting on Tuesday 27 October 2026 at Woodhatch Place, Reigate: a proposed increase to the Surrey Online School contract spend limit and the council's financial position as at the end of August 2026.

The Surrey Online School report asks Cabinet to approve one of two options for raising the contract's authorised spend ceiling. The first would increase the limit by £2 million, from £3.605 million to £5.605 million, aligning contractual authority with forecast spend through to August 2028. The second would increase it by £1 million, to £4.605 million, covering forecast spend until August 2027. The report states that neither option represents a request for additional budget, as the school recoups costs from commissioning schools or council services and pays only for provision that is commissioned and delivered. The report also notes that declining to approve an increase would not avoid the expenditure; the council would instead risk incurring it through higher-cost external provision.

Cabinet will also receive the Month 5 financial report, setting out the council's forecast revenue and capital budget positions as at 31 August 2026 and the expected outlook for the remainder of the financial year.

The meeting will also include a Cabinet Member of the Month update from Cllr Sinead Mooney, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, and a routine noting of delegated decisions taken since the last Cabinet meeting on 29 September 2026.

At that September meeting, Cabinet approved the allocation of £26.9 million of Department for Education capital funding across the future East and West Surrey unitary authorities for special educational needs and disabilities provision. Of this, £8.1 million in alternative free school funding was directed entirely to West Surrey to address a shortfall in complex autism spectrum condition provision, while the remaining £18.78 million was split 45% to East Surrey and 55% to West Surrey using the Department for Education's own methodology. The programme is expected to support the creation of up to 452 specialist places ahead of vesting day on 1 April 2027.

Also at the September meeting, Cabinet approved the 2026/27 Youth Justice Plan for recommendation to Full Council, adopted a Local Transport Delivery Plan covering £265 million of consolidated Department for Transport funding for the period 2026/27 to 2029/30, and approved a revised Gypsy and Traveller Plot Allocation Policy developed in response to findings by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

On the financial position reported to the September meeting, Cabinet noted a forecast revenue overspend of £12.3 million as at the end of July, driven primarily by children's services placement costs. Three capital budget increases were approved: £3.1 million for the A308 Corridor Improvement Scheme, £2.1 million for the Cheyne Walk Children's Home, and £0.8 million for the Ewell Village improvement project, all funded through additional grant income.

The 27 October Cabinet meeting is open to the public and is expected to be webcast via the council's website.