Full Council agrees 2026/27 budget
Final agreement has been given to a £693million budget which will help deliver vital services to people across East Sussex.
The approved budget relies upon Government’s agreement to allow the council to borrow an additional £70million, known as Exceptional Financial Support, necessary to balance the books.
Councillors were told that Government reforms hoped to have made funding for East Sussex fairer will in fact leave the county worse off because more money is being directed to other local authorities.
With an expected £56million deficit, councillors approved a combined Council Tax and Adult Social Care Precept increase of 4.99 per cent and new savings of just under £3.1 million. This brings the council’s savings total to nearly £160million since 2010.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Keith Glazier said: “Asking residents to pay more is not something we do lightly but we have little choice as the Government’s fairer funding reforms have left us worse off to the tune of around £18million.
“Despite our consistent lobbying, Government grants have once again failed to properly recognise the unique challenges and growing needs of East Sussex including it being a rural county with a large elderly population, having lower wages and some of the most deprived areas in the country.
“Having used our reserves to support the budget in previous years, we are unable to rely on that money and must now wait to hear if the Government will allow us to borrow an additional £70million to ensure we can carry out our statutory duties.”
He added: “As we continue to face financial challenges in the coming years and the biggest reorganisation of local government in recent times, our Council Plan will play a vital role in ensuring all spending is in line with our priorities and we have a clear ambition about what we can and what we want to achieve by 2029.”
The draft plan, presented to Full Council, sets out those ambitions including further improvements to bus services, spending £240million with local suppliers, replacing Exceat Bridge, launching a new loans programme to support businesses to grow and create jobs, developing our early help programme for families with young children to support them and prevent problems from developing, and actively taking joined up health and care into communities to support people with complex needs.
The Council Plan will be finalised after budget allocations have been made and firm targets can be set. The final document will be published in March.
Ends.
Karen Bowles
Tuesday, 10 February 2026