Savings planned as council faces £54m deficit

East Sussex County Council is to be presented with plans to try to quell an upcoming £54m deficit.

However, the authority said in a statement that the latest cuts would go "nowhere near" to meeting the predicted deficit it was facing in its budget.

The new measures, to be considered on Tuesday, are expected to save £3.1m, on top of £3.2m already expected to be saved in the next financial year.

The council, which is run by the Conservative Party as a minority administration, said it expected to hear the detail of how much funding it would receive from central government later in December.

The proposed savings would affect up to 150 members of staff, the equivalent of 100 full time posts.

It includes a review of staffing in the education team of children's services, a restructuring of staff in adult social care and a proposal to stop payments for term time university accommodation for care leavers in favour of alternative support.

Moving the coroner's court into county hall will also save property costs, it said.

The council said its ageing population and large rural areas were exacerbating its financial problems.

The report, to be presented to cabinet, said: "It is clear that we continue to experience sustained higher demand for services, more complex needs amongst those seeking support, and increased costs, particularly in children's services and adult social care, beyond our best estimates at the time of planning for the current year."

It said it believed that the government had failed to recognise these challenges and was sending more money to other local authorities.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.

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