Cllr Roy Galley's latest newsletter for those in his East Sussex County Council Division of Maresfield & Buxted (which includes High Hurstwood, Chelwood Gate, Danehill, Fletching, Piltdown, Isfield, Fairwarp and Nutley) is now available.
The State of the County : East Sussex
A recent report has identified a number of acute problems in East Sussex:
- Parts of East Sussex suffer levels of deprivation equivalent to those in Newham or Blackburn. More than 30,000 people here live in areas among the 10% most deprived in England and this drives increased demand for our services, especially for the most vulnerable.
- We have a much higher than average population of older people, with the number of those aged 85+ rising by more than 3,000 during the life of the next Parliament. In East Sussex 26% of people are aged 65 or over, compared to the England average of 19%. Older people add hugely to the life of the county yet are of course more likely to need our support. In East Sussex, the number of contacts with our health and social care service has risen by more than 25% (from 67,218 to 84,533) over the past four years.
- The average annual earnings of someone who lives and works here are just over £30,000, compared to the England average of £35,106. Our economy is largely made up of small businesses and we raise less in business rates than many neighbours.
- The demand for services for children and young people is rising sharply, as is the complexity of cases in both social care and special educational needs. One effect of the increasing number of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) is that the cost of providing home-to-school transport in rural counties like ours has doubled in the last five years.
Finances in the short and medium term
These are just some of the pressures that are pushing our finances way past the point at which they can balance. In this financial year we’ve been able to set a balanced budget only by allocating £14m of our very limited general reserves to make ends meet – money which can only be used once.
The coming years look impossible to manage unless something changes. In 2025/26 the gap between what we spend on services and the resources available is forecast at £55m, rising to £71m the year after and to £83m the year after that. Finding these levels of savings, from a net service budget of £540m, inevitably would demand significant reductions in not only universal services (like highways) but also in care services for vulnerable children and adults which we’re legally obliged to provide and which account for more than two-thirds of that budget.
The general grant we receive from government is now only £4m this year and we’re limited by law on how much we can raise council tax (we also know residents of East Sussex are already hard-pressed and paying some of the highest council tax in England). We’re an efficient and value-for-money council, as multiple recent independent audits, inspections and reviews have found. We have identified savings of £140m since 2010, found innovative ways to deliver services (including closer working with the NHS) and we always look to make the most of digital technology to transform how we operate.
Local Roadworks
Progress is being made on a number of local hotspots.
- Work will begin on the footpath from Buxted Station to Buxted School at the end of July.
- There will be extensive repairs on Hindleap Lane from Plawhatch Lane to Wych Cross in August.
- Further investigation work is being carried out shortly on Goldbridge, Piltdown.This has proved to be amore complex problem than originally thought but hopefully a solution will soon be identified.
- Drainage repairs around Budletts Lane and Millpond Lane are imminent.
- Investigation work is also going ahead on High Street and School Lane, Maresfield.
- Updates are awaited on a number of other schemes such as the bridge on Underhill, Maresfield. This will shortly form part of a television tragi/comedy series.
Roy Galley
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