Report of the Cabinet

Noted · Received for information; no decision followed.

The Cabinet met on 30 June 2026 and reported on the Council's position at the end of March 2026 against its plans for 2025/26, covering Council Plan targets, the Revenue Budget, the Capital Programme, the Savings Plan and risks. p2p4

The report records a revenue outturn overspend of £20.2m for 2025/26, including a £10.1m overspend in Children's Services and a £10.0m overspend in Adult Social Care, and an unplanned draw of £9.7m from reserves. p24p25p27p33

It states that, with local government reorganisation planned by the Government, 2027/28 may be the last year of East Sussex County Council, and the final Council Plan and budget for 2027/28 will be decided by Full Council in February 2027. p58p119

The report says approval of the basis for detailed service and budget planning for 2027/28 will be sought from Cabinet and Council in September. p118

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• p2The Cabinet met on 30 June 2026. Attendees: - Councillors Woolley (Chair), Bradley, Chapman, Estcourt, Griffiths, Morley and Soane.
• p41.1 The report sets out the Council’s position at the end of March 2026 against the plans agreed for 2025/26. It includes delivery of Council Plan targets, Revenue Budget, Capital Programme, and Savings Plan, together with Risks.
• p241.20 We continued to work with partners on the creation of the Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority. Our work is to ensure that the new authority remains in the best possible position to access funding and use its devolved powers to address challenges faced by residents and businesses across Sussex (Appendix 7). Budget Outturn 1.21 The detailed revenue projections for each department are set out in the relevant appendices which show an outturn overspend of £20.2m for the 2025/26 financial year (£22.8m at Q3).
• p251.22 The main headlines are: · There continues to be significant increases in demand for statutory services in Children’s Services (CSD), which has resulted in a £10.1m overspend for 2025/26 (£13.5m at Q3). The main area of overspend is within Children We Care For Placements, where the overspend has reduced by £1.4m since Q3; t his improvement has been achieved through a sustained and rigorous focus on commissioning activity, robust and targeted contract negotiations, ensuring that all placement and support packages are appropriately sized to meet children’s needs, and strengthened oversight to hold providers to account for cost, quality and outcomes. The second largest service pressure is within Home to School Transport which has seen a small reduction of £0.06m in overspend since Q3. Significant work has gone into implementing cost reduction measures within the Home to School Transport service including route optimisation.
• p27· We have seen an increase in demand for Adult Social Care and are supporting more people than in previous years. This has led to an overspend for Adult Social Care (ASC) of £10.0m (£9.0m at Q3) which largely relates to the Independent Sector (externally provided care packages for residential, nursing, day and home care). However, it should be noted that support is being provided at a lower average cost than previous years, because the service is managing the market, being prudent with packages of support and reviewing more people.
• p331.24 The net impact of the above is an unplanned draw from reserves of £9.7m in 2025/26. This is in addition to the planned £11.4m draw to present a balanced position in setting the 2025/26 budget. Use of the Capital Reserve has the potential to increase the requirement to borrow, leading into increased costs in the future; use of Collection Fund surplus and Insurance and Local Government Reorganisation Reserves will likely hinder the Council’s management of future risk and transformation. To address the projected in-year overspend and reduce the required draw from reserves, during 2025/26 the Council continued with several actions introduced in the previous year, including:
• p582.14 It is important to note that, with local government reorganisation planned by the Government, 2027/28 may be the last year of East Sussex County Council. If that is the case, the Council will set the final Council Plan and budget in February 2027. Planning for the years beyond, including the first service and financial plans for the new authority, will be led by the incoming Council elected in May 2027 according to the Government’s declared timetable.
• p118Next steps 2.41 Having reflected on our current context through the analysis presented in this report and the ambitions of the new Council, in September we will seek Cabinet and Council’s approval of the basis for detailed service and budget planning for 2027/28.
• p1192.42 Work will continue into the autumn to refine our understanding of the impacts on our services of national reforms, changing demand for services and the financial outlook for the next year and beyond. 2.43 Members will shape draft plans as they are developed through Cabinet, County Council, Scrutiny Committees, Whole Council Forums and specific engagement sessions throughout the 2026/27 Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources process. The final Council Plan and budget for 2027/28 will be decided by Full Council in February 2027. 30 June 2026 ANDY WOOLLEY (Chair)