Devolution and establishment of the Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA)

Committee report · Cabinet · Tue 21 Oct 2025 · East Sussex County Council

What it recommends

In the report's own words. A recommendation is a proposal: the meeting can agree, change or reject it.

“Approve and consent to the establishment of the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority.”
“Delegate authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, to agree the contents of, and consent to, the making of the Sussex and Brighton Combined Authority Order 2026 establishing the Combined County Authority.”
“Delegate authority to the Chief Executive to take such action as necessary to give effect to the above recommendations and to facilitate the establishment of the MCCA.”

What the meeting decided

The minutes record: Agreed. “RESOLVED to: 1) Approve and consent to the establishment of the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority; 2) Delegate authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, to agree the contents of, and consent to, the making of the Sussex and Brighton Combined Authority Order 2026 establishing the Combined County Authority; 3) Delegate authority to the Chief Executive to take such action as necessary to give effect to the above resolutions and to facilitate the establishment of the MCCA; and 4)…” minutes ↗

In plain English

Each sentence was checked against the passage it cites; how the checking works.

Recommended · This went to the meeting on Tue 21 Oct 2025. What was decided is in that meeting's minutes.

The Combined County Authority would cover East Sussex County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council, and West Sussex County Council, and would be established through a Statutory Instrument that the Government planned to introduce in Autumn 2025. p8 p10 p14

The report says the Government would provide the MCCA with an investment fund of £38 million a year for 30 years, split 50/50 between capital and revenue, plus mayoral capacity funding of £1 million for 2025/26 to help set up the MCCA. p83 p84

3 further sentences of this summary were held back by verification and are not shown. We only publish claims that survived checking against the cited passages.

Show the 5 passages this is based on

p81. Background 1.1 In December 2024, Government published its English Devolution White Paper which set out its ambitions for devolution and the eventual creation of Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) covering all areas of England. In February, East Sussex County Council (ESCC), jointly with Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) and West Sussex County Council (WSCC), was accepted on to the Devolution Priority Programme for the establishment of a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) for Sussex, with the three councils as Constituent Authorities. A public consultation was launched by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and on 17 July 2025 Government published the responses to the consultation and confirmed that the relevant statutory tests had been met to proceed with the MCCA’s establishment.
p101.3 Before the Bill is enacted, establishing a new MCCA will necessitate the introduction of secondary legislation in the form of a Statutory Instrument (SI). The Government plans to introduce an SI in Autumn 2025 to establish a new MCCA for Sussex. All proposed Constituent Authorities must agree to the SI before creating a Strategic Authority. The next step in establishing the Sussex MCCA is for the three Constituent Authorities to formally approve the laying of the Statutory Instrument (SI) in Parliament to begin the legislative process.
p142.3. Establishment of Combined County Authority (CCA) - Establishes the CCA for the local government areas of East Sussex County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council, and West Sussex County Council and names it as the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority. The CCA will have the functions set out in SI although further functions may be conferred in the future through further regulations.
p835.2. The creation of a 30 year investment fund - A long-term investment fund for the area has been a key incentive from Government for areas to pursue devolution, and this remains a core part of the offer to devolved areas. The annual amount that MCCA would receive is £38m. This figure has been calculated on a per capita basis to ensure consistency and fairness across areas in the Devolution Priority Programme. The letter from Government sets out that his would initially be paid in 26/27, following the election of the Mayor in May 2026, and would be split 50/50 between capital and revenue. Beyond that split, the new MCCA will have complete flexibility to spend this funding on the priorities for the area as identified by it.
p845.3. Cost of establishing the new MCCA - In order to meet the costs of establishing the MCCA, Government has confirmed that once the SI has been laid, mayoral capacity funding of £1m for 2025/26 across Sussex, will be made available to support the set-up of the MCCA. Government has indicated that further capacity funding will be provided in 2026/27 and 2027/28 to support the ongoing development of the CCA.

Places and organisations it names

East Sussex County Council

Other papers for this meeting

Cabinet agenda · Committee agenda
Appendix 1 to “Devolution report - Additional Recommendation” · Committee report
Appendix 2.. · Committee report
Appendix 3. · Committee report
Appendix 4 to “Devolution report - Additional Recommendation” · Committee report
Appendix 5 to “Devolution report - Additional Recommendation” · Committee report
Cabinet Appendix 1 · Committee report
Care Quality Commission (CQC) Assessment of Adult Social Care · Committee report
Devolution report - Additional Recommendation · Committee report
Minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2025 · Committee report
Cabinet minutes · Committee minutes

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