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Sussex Weald
Conservatives

Conservative-led East Sussex sets balanced budget in "most difficult times"

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Wednesday, 26 February, 2025
  • Local News
Conservative Cllr Keith Glazier

A meeting of the ruling Cabinet this week (25th February) agreed savings of £13.5 million  needed to balance the books for the forthcoming financial year (2025/26). 

This followed a comprehensive public consultation which led to significant amendments to some of the initial savings' proposals keeping open a number of valued services which had been under review, while still delivering economies. 

The budget sees over £1.1-billion spent on local services - a rise of around £55 billion vs. 2024/25 - with County Hall drawing on £11.4 million in reserves to support the delivery of key services under its statutory obligations.

Reserves “are specifically there for use in such difficult days", according to Council Leader, Conservative Cllr Keith Glazier (pictured).

“While many councils, up and down the country, are virtually bankrupt and relying on Government bailouts, prudent financial management, a consequence of years of Conservative control in East Sussex, means we have the necessary to tied us over the present tough times”, said Cllr Glazier.

The 2025/26 budget will see East Sussex Council Council spending more than £1.1bn on vital services, including:

·       £411m for schools, education and children’s social care

·       £444m to care for adults and keep people healthy

·       £72m to protect the environment, recycling and waste disposal

·       £76m to maintain roads and provide transport

·       £2m to support the local economy

The budget for 2025/26 includes raising council tax by 4.99% (2.99% council tax plus 2% Adult Social Care Precept), which is a total increase of £1.70 a week for a Band D property.

Despite being able to draw on reserves, the demographic make-up and needs of the East Sussex population presents greater long-term challenges. More than a quarter of the population are aged 65 or over, 78,000 residents live in areas amongst the top 20 per cent most deprived nationally, over 90% of companies employ fewer than ten people, and the county’s economic geography places limitations on the council's capacity to support local economic growth.

With growth in need and demand, statutory services to support vulnerable children and adults accounts for around three quarters of the council’s budget, and the cost to maintain these core services has increased significantly.

Cabinet did welcome some additional funding from central Government, but was told by Officers that it is “not sufficient to address the ongoing impact of increased service demands and high levels of inflation in prior years, together with the impact of increases in the national living wage and increases in employers’ national insurance contributions on our providers, especially in social care”. Consequently, £11.4 million in reserves had to be drawn on, and £13.5 million in savings made.

Conservative Councillors believe that most of these additional costs, many of which are not compensated for in our central government grant, are a direct consequence of the changed priorities and increased costs imposed on the local economy by Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeve’s ill-conceived Autumn budget.

Illustrating concerns that the Labour government are neglecting counties like East Sussex, Cllr Glazier commented: “Central Government has made a choice in the way it allocates what it calls a Recovery Grant. Under the previous Government’s formula, East Sussex would have expected £7m from the £700m grant available but, as things stand, we are set to receive NOTHING and the government has directed its support elsewhere.

"Fundamentally, the government’s funding formula doesn’t take the needs of the disproportionate numbers of older people in the county and the significant pockets of high deprivation properly into account."

"They’ve also played games with the numbers. Their claim of £21million in extra funding for potholes was just an additional £1.9 millions as it included the £19.1m annual grant”, he added.

"Delivering more savings and using further reserves to balance the books is not a sustainable position. We will continue to make our case to Government."

During the Cabinet meeting, opposition councillors appeared more concerned about the council’s buildings than the services provided from them. “A good, well-run council is not about bricks and mortar, it’s about providing top-quality and timely services to those in the community who need it, and we always ensure the most vulnerable are cared for”, said Conservative Cllr Carl Maynard, the Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health.

Cllr Johanna Howell (Conservative) pointed out that the savings proposals had been discussed in detail and accepted with obvious reluctance by ALL members of her cross-party Place Scrutiny Committee as the best compromise available. She welcomed the fact that officers had listened to all the deep concerns expressed by committee members and sought to accommodate them as best as they could.

Despite much opposition criticism there were no credible alternative proposals offered to avoid making the savings.

Cllr Gerard Fox (Conservative) observed after the meeting: “The Lib Dems seemed to rest their entire argument on seeking to spend £1.4 million not spent this year on County elections, but which will be more than spent on elections in 2026 and 2027 for the new Mayoral and Unitary authorities; and even if they could spend it, it still cannot come anywhere close to bridging the gap or sustaining these services. It's just not a credible approach. With this mindset perhaps it's no surprise why Lib Dem-run Eastbourne is effectively bankrupt.”

Cllr Fox added: “The Green Party seemed to believe that there is a magic pot of money called "private supplier profits" that can be easily realised by bringing most council services in-house, but all the evidence we have points to the contrary. It was pure un-evidenced leftist Corbynite nonsense from them as usual. No wonder then that they crashed Brighton & Hove City Council finances into the runway."

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East Sussex County Councillor for Hailsham New Town, Cllr Gerard Fox has lived in Wealden for fifty years since childhood, attending local schools before studying Economics and Politics at Bristol University.

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"... good, well-run council is not about bricks and mortar, it’s about providing top-quality and timely services."

".. Green Party seemed to believe that there is a magic pot of money  -- pure un-evidenced ,Leftist Corbynite nonsense ."

"... increased costs imposed on the local economy by Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeve’s ill-conceived Autumn Budget."

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