Appendix 4 BSD - 24.09.2025

Noted · Received for information; no decision followed.

This report summarises the Business Services department's progress on Council priorities in the first quarter of 2025/26. p2

Council carbon emissions for 2024/25 were 36% below the 2019/20 baseline, against a target of 50%, and annual spend on electricity has fallen by 26% since 2019/20, a saving of £1,942,641. p8p10

The Council spent £398m with local suppliers over the past 12 months, which is 61% of its total procurement spend against a target of 60%. p23

The Business Services net revenue budget of £31.264m is forecast to overspend by £0.178m, mainly in Property, while all projects in the £38.175m capital budget are forecast to be delivered within budget. p40

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• p2Business Services – Q1 2025/26 Summary of progress on Council Priorities, issues arising, and achievements
• p8The total Council carbon emissions outturn for 2024/25 (reported a quarter in arrears) saw a 36% reduction (ref i) , compared to the baseline year 2019/20, against a target of 50%. Emissions for 2024/25 were 1.4% lower compared to 2023/24, versus the annual reduction target of 13%. Carbon emissions from the Council’s electricity consumption fell by 3% during 2024/25. As the grid carbon emissions factor remained the same in 2024/25 as in 2023/24, the 3% emissions reduction is principally down to the Council reducing its electricity use. The carbon emission factor is the figure used to convert electricity consumption from the national grid into equivalent carbon emissions. Carbon emission factors are produced each year by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and applied widely in the UK. The UK grid carbon emission factor changes from year to year to reflect the change in fuel mix in UK power stations (i.e. between renewables, nuclear, natural gas, oil and coal) and as the proportion of imported electricity also changes. The carbon emission factors used for reporting in 2024/25 are based on the fuel mix used in 2022, this is due to the time it takes to collate and analyse the data (more information can be found on the gov.uk conversion factors 2023 website ).
• p10In 2024/25, external temperatures for East Sussex were lower than in 2023/24. This colder weather increased heating demand and prevented the Council from seeing a reduction in emissions from fossil fuel heat, which have remained at the same level year on year. Investments made in various decarbonisation of heat projects previously, and provision of energy efficiency awareness training provided mitigation. Subsequently, even though weather was colder, emissions did not rise but remained static. The Council’s annual spend on electricity has reduced by 26% since 2019/20, saving £1,942,641 when comparing 2024/25 directly to 2019/20. This significant reduction reflects estate changes and investments made in renewable energy (e.g. solar PV) and energy efficiency measures.
• p23Wellbeing Programme Enhancements: · Targeted workshops · Evaluation of support using the Most Significant Change method (e.g. Time to Talk feedback) · Expansion of the Mental Health First Aiders network · Ongoing Menopause Cafés P rocurement Procurement, contract and supplier management activities The Council has spent £398m with local suppliers over the past 12 months. This equates to 61% of our total procurement spend, which is above our target of 60%. 992 local suppliers were used. The Procurement team continues to promote our contract opportunities to local suppliers, as well as building local supply chain opportunities into our tenders where possible. Social Value
• p40The Windows 11 device refresh project continued at pace during Q1. With the end of support for Windows 10 approaching in October 2025, the project has now refreshed 82% of devices with those staff experiencing the benefits of a faster device and upgraded operating system. In order to extend the use of, and get better value from devices, we will now refresh them every 5 years (this was previously every 4 years). The scale at which this is done (across 3 councils through the Orbis Partnership) has many benefits and in this case, a saving of 18% per device has been achieved through this joint procurement. Revenue Budget Summary The 2025/26 Business Services net revenue budget is £31.264m. There are £1.060m planned savings in BSD this financial year (ref ii), of which £0.080m relating to the planned reduction in the cost of the Digital Postal Hub is not expected to be achieved at this time. The current outturn forecast is a £0.178m overspend (ref iv). In Property there is a forecast overspend of £0.178m (ref iii). This is attributed to the loss of income from a courier service contract to East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service which has now ended and increased procurement costs for the new Digital Postal Hub, which includes the unachieved savings target of £0.080m. No other service areas are reporting any variances at this stage although there is a risk to the full achievement of income for Business Admin as a result of the academisation of schools. Capital Programme Summary The 2025/26 capital budget is £38.175m. As at Q1 all projects are forecast to be delivered within the allocated budget (ref v). Performance exceptions Q1 : Priority – Making best use of resources now and for the future