A revised projected financial deficit of £83.6m by 2027/28 at East Sussex County Council means the authority will likely not be able to provide some basic services without further government support.
The bleak financial outlook has been outlined in the latest report of East Sussex’s cabinet and in the authority’s draft of a productivity plan that all councils were asked to produce by 19 July.
Having already introduced a programme of cost-cutting measures, East Sussex said the scope for more efficiency gains is “very limited and will go only a small way towards bridging the budget gap”. At the same time, total strategic reserves are projected to be £16.7m by 2029, excluding any draws required to set a balanced budget in 2025/26 or beyond.
East Sussex’s budget gap is forecasted to be £55.3m in 2025/26, rising to £71.8 in 2026/27 and £83.6m by 2027/28.
Even in the most optimistic outcome, where a series of possible scenarios such as the continuation of adult social care grant funding and a reduction in contractual inflation in line with forecasts materialise, the budget gap for 2025/26 would be £26.6m.
Further steps and “difficult decisions” would therefore be required to support the council in being able to set a balanced budget, the report stated. These include additional measures to “contain and reduce day to day spend wherever possible, maximising income and identifying further savings”.
Such savings include reviewing the council’s remaining non-statutory, preventative services which are currently provided as part of its ‘core offer’, which it defines as “the basic but decent level of services residents should expect”.
But East Sussex warned in its productivity plan that “any further reductions we are forced to make are very likely to generate higher need later on” and would be “a less productive use of resources”.
The cabinet report also noted that East Sussex would “continue to prioritise the sale of assets where appropriate”.
The authority said existing financial pressures in children’s services – which overspent by £30.4m in 2023/24 – and adult social care would continue into 2024/25, while “emergent pressures are likely in SEND and adult social care independent sector placements”.
The report stated: “Without further government support, changes to the statutory requirements local authorities are expected to fulfil, or sustainable reform of local government finances we will not have the funding we need for the future.”
East Sussex said it would continue to lobby government, and seek the help of local MPS. The aim is to “make clear the specific needs of East Sussex and call for sustainable funding for local government that is appropriately reflective of local need and that fully reflects the impact of reforms. We will also proactively suggest things that will help without significant cost – calling for reforms and flexibilities which would help us better target and use our resources – helping us help ourselves.”
In its productivity plan, the authority said it was seeking opportunities to “benefit from advances in new technology”. Pilot programmes will be developed over the next year to “test artificial intelligence safely and securely to deliver improvements and efficiencies”. Additionally, a robotic process automation programme will continue to be rolled out across the council. Finally, a new data and insight plan setting out actions for how the council collects, maintains and uses data “to generate better insights into services and the needs of communities” will be implemented.
An updated assessment of service demand, funding expectations and proposed actions to “inform more detailed business and budget planning for 2025/26 and beyond” will be presented to members in the Autumn.
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