Appendix 1 - Draft Council Plan 2026.27 Cabinet 27.01.26

Proposed · This went to the meeting on Tue 27 Jan 2026. What was decided is in that meeting's minutes.

The plan says the Council is facing 'the most difficult financial outlook in its history', with rising demand for and cost of vital services, particularly for the most vulnerable, linked to the cost of living and the legacy of COVID-19. p4

It says the Council has identified £156m of savings since 2010, with few remaining options to further reduce spending, and that the cost of services for the most vulnerable children and adults makes up around three quarters of the budget. p5

The plan sets a target for the Council's activities to be carbon neutral as soon as possible, and by 2050 at the latest. p94

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• p4Ongoing cost of living challenges and the legacy of COVID-19 have had a significant impact on the lives of many people in East Sussex. A s a result of national factors beyond local control, the Council has seen a significant increase in the demand for, and cost of providing, vital services for our residents, particularly for the most vulnerable. Current and forecast economic conditions, combined with the increased demand for services contribute to a very challenging period for the Council over the coming years. The Council is facing the most difficult financial outlook in its history.
• p5The cost of providing services for the most vulnerable children and adults in the county makes up around three quarters of our budget . The Council provides good value for money but without significant additional funding the current demand for services and ongoing projections presents an increasingly difficult financial position in the short and medium term, which may impact on our ability to provide certain services. Since 2010 we have identified substantial savings of £156m, and there are few remaining options to further reduce our spending. We will continue to focus our stretched resources on helping those most in need and where we can make the most impact.
• p944.1 Carbon Neutral Delivery outcome: To help tackle Climate Change East Sussex County Council activities are carbon neutral as soon as possible and in any event by 2050 We will build on our earlier work to ensure Council activities are carbon neutral as soon as possible and in any event by 2050. We will implement our updated corporate Climate Emergency Plan for 2025-30. One of the actions is to continue reducing the carbon emissions from our buildings. Between 2009 and 2024 we invested £14.8m into over 260 projects. These have generated total estimated savings on energy bills of over £1m per year. We aim to improve the environmental and financial sustainability of our assets. We work to make our premises more efficient, to reduce running costs and carbon emissions. To support this, during 2026/27, we will seek new opportunities for appropriate grant funding, as well as further areas to implement our buildings maintenance programme. We will also deliver energy efficiency training and support behavioural change to help deliver these outcomes. Alongside this we will also continue to encourage sustainable transport options for business travel and commuting. We will continue to reduce carbon emissions from our supply chain, by asking more suppliers to report on, and reduce, their carbon emissions. We will begin to adapt key services to the unavoidable effects of climate change.