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Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR)

Committee report · Place Scrutiny Committee · Wed 22 Jul 2026 · East Sussex County Council

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Officers have recommended that the Place Scrutiny Committee consider the 2025/26 end of year monitoring report and the State of the County 2026 report, identify potential areas for scrutiny focus, and establish an RPPR scrutiny board. p5p6p7

This is part of the Council's Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR) process, which feeds into the Council Plan and budget decisions due to be finalised in early 2027. p4p8p9

The State of the County 2026 report describes significant financial and operational challenges, including reliance on Government permission to borrow to fund day-to-day services and growing demand for statutory services for vulnerable children and adults. p11

Key developments the committee may explore further include local government reorganisation, devolution and the Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority, the increasing use of artificial intelligence in council services, and measures to boost economic growth and employment. p18p19p20p21p22

Show the 12 passages this is based on
  • p4Purpose: To begin the committee’s input to the Council’s business and financial planning process (Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources).
  • p5RECOMMENDATIONS: The scrutiny committee is recommended to: (1) consider information within the 2025/26 end of year Council monitoring report and State of the County 2026 report and the implications for services within the remit of the committee;
  • p6(2) identify potential areas for scrutiny focus as part of RPPR planning, for consideration as part of future RPPR reports or the committee’s wider work programme; and
  • p7(3) establish a RPPR scrutiny board. 1. Background
  • p81.1 Scrutiny is a vital part of the Council’s integrated business and financial planning process, known as Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR). The scrutiny committees contribute significantly to the planning process by scrutinising and commenting on specific RPPR reports during the year, and also by exploring key issues impacting on services within their remit in detail through selecting topics for the committees’ wider work programmes.
  • p91.2 The insight and evidence gathered by Members through all scrutiny work inform discussion at dedicated RPPR Board meetings which consider developing plans in more detail. These focused sessions enable scrutiny to agree any specific comments and recommendations on emerging plans, to be taken into account by Cabinet and Council before a final decision is taken on the updated Council Plan and budget early in 2027. The diagram attached at Appendix 1 summarises scrutiny involvement throughout the annual RPPR cycle. 2. Supporting information
  • p112.2 The State of the County report highlighted the significant financial and operational challenges facing the Council. We will begin planning for 2027/28 from a position of substantial financial challenge and very little room to manoeuvre. The Council’s budget for 2026/27 is, for the first time, reliant on exceptional Government permission to borrow to fund day to day service provision. We also know that this position will continue, as a new Government approach to the way local government funding is allocated to individual councils has already been set out and its impact will take effect fully over the next two years. Without further Government action, the national funding pot for councils will not grow at the same rate that needs and costs are increasing, and changes to the distribution of funding will represent a real terms reduction for East Sussex, failing to recognise the cost of sustaining essential services here. The State of the County report provides an overview of this current financial outlook as the starting point for financial planning. 2.3 The report set out that underlying demographic and economic factors in the county, coupled with the impact of cost of living increases, mean there is growing need for the statutory, demand-led services for vulnerable children and adults which account for three quarters of our budget. This, plus ongoing escalation in costs right across the Council as a result of national and international economic challenges, has significantly increased the expenditure required just to maintain the delivery of the most essential services.
  • p183.3 Key developments highlighted in the State of the County report for areas within the remit of the Place committee, which the committee may wish to explore further, include:
  • p19· Local government reorganisation (LGR) and the creation of a single tier of local government in East Sussex, with a Government decision about LGR and the future shape of East Sussex expected before the Parliamentary summer recess;
  • p20· Devolution and how ESCC works with the Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority (SBSA), including the Council’s its input into key strategic documents being developed by the SBSA, such as the Prosperity Strategy and Local Transport Plan;
  • p21· The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the Council to maximise the efficiency of service delivery; and
  • p22· Local and national measures to boost economic growth and employment including: Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy; national skills reforms; local skills programmes such as Connect to Work and WorkWell; and the Pride in Place programme.

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