BN for NoM LGR reimbursement Full Council 13.10.26 (003)

For decision · This went to the meeting on Tue 13 Oct 2026. What was decided is in that meeting's minutes.

A Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Kathryn Field and Councillor Paul Redstone asks Full Council to request that the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer publish the full cost of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) to the council. p3p12

The motion also asks Full Council to request that the Leader of the Council write to the Secretary of State and local MPs calling on government to reimburse the council for all costs incurred as a result of LGR. p3p12p14

To 31 August 2026, the gross cost of LGR across the six East Sussex councils was £322,979, with £201,349 of grant funding received from government, giving a net cost of £121,630. p28

Further government grant funding of £900,000 was expected in 2026/27 to offset the cost of LGR implementation in East Sussex, and government has indicated it will consider costs incurred so far as part of its review. p29

The briefing note states that councils have been asked to cease work on implementing the LGR decisions announced in July 2026 until the government's national review of the programme has concluded. p25

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• p31.1 The Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Kathryn Field and Councillor Paul Redstone states that Council notes:
• p12To request the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer to establish and publish the full cost to this council of Local Government Reorganisation to date. To request the Leader of the Council to write to the Secretary of State and our local members of Parliament:
• p14o Calling on the Government to reimburse this council for all the costs incurred as a result of the Local Government Reorganisation process.
• p252.8 On 7 September 2026 the Secretary of State wrote to council leaders to advise that a national review of the LGR programme is being undertaken. Decisions on the geography of the new unitary councils have been withdrawn from some areas but for others, including East Sussex, the decisions are being reviewed. Until the review has concluded and further announcements are made, councils are asked to cease work on implementing the decisions that were announced in July.
• p283. LGR expenditure and funding 3.1 As set out in section 2, LGR in East Sussex has been approached collectively by the 6 councils: East Sussex County Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Lewes District Council, Rother District Council and Wealden District Council. To 31 August 2026, the gross cost of LGR across the 6 councils was £322,979 and grant funding of £201,349 was received from government. The net cost incurred across the 6 councils to 31 August 2026 is therefore £121,630. The costs include external support for options analysis, business case development, financial analysis and communications and survey costs. Indirect costs, including the very significant internal staff time spent on LGR work, have not been recorded collectively so are not included in the costs above.
• p293.2 Further grant funding of £900,000 was expected in 2026/27 to offset the cost of LGR implementation in East Sussex and government has indicated that it will consider costs incurred so far as part of its review.