The Local Government Association (LGA) have reported that UK local authorities face a collective funding gap of £2.3bn for the 2025-26 financial year. East Sussex County Council is facing a funding gap of £55 million. As local authorities have a legal responsibility to set a balanced budget, this means making some difficult decisions about how the Council spends its money in future.
It’s important to say that East Sussex County Council will still have a net revenue budget of £538.1 million next year, but every department at the Council will need to find savings to close the funding gap. Some of the savings proposals were considered by the Council’s Cabinet in September and more savings proposals will be discussed at a future meeting.
There are 11 savings proposals for Adult Social Care and Health that the Council is currently running public consultations on: eastsussex.gov.uk/funding-gap-asch.
The consultations started on 3 October and close on 28 November 2024. Decisions are expected to be made about all of these proposals by councillors in February 2025.
The national Government Budget announced on 30 October did include an increase in funding for local councils, which was not as much as the gap estimated by the LGA. There may also be an increase in costs. Once further detail is available, the Council will analyse what it means, and it will be considered during the decision-making process next year.
The consultations cover the following services:
- Community Support Services (learning disability service)
- Hookstead and St Nicholas (learning disability day services)
- East Sussex Floating Support Service (housing-related service for people aged 16+)
- Linden Court and Beeching Park (learning disability day services)
- Mental Health Community Outreach Service (service for older people)
- Milton Grange (day service for older people)
- Phoenix Centre (day service for older people)
- Recovery services for drug and alcohol misuse (services for adults)
- Steps to Work (learning disability service)
- Supported accommodation provision for vulnerable adults
- Supported accommodation provision for adults with mental health needs
You can find more information about the proposals and take part in the consultation by visiting: eastsussex.gov.uk/funding-gap-asch.
If you need the survey in a different format or language, including printed surveys, you can find out how to get in touch by visiting the consultation webpages.