West Sussex County Council Cabinet Members have outlined the next steps in planning next year’s budget, aiming to close a potential funding gap of up to £38.5 million.
Projections suggest this could reduce to £8.2 million with a possible council tax increase.
Yesterday, the Cabinet approved a public consultation to gather residents' feedback on prioritising finances and services.
Cllr Paul Marshall, Leader of West Sussex County Council, said: “We again find ourselves in the difficult position of having to make decisions about vital services for our residents, when the funding available to us is not enough to pay for them.
“We are doing everything to prioritise essential services, especially to the most vulnerable residents and communities, and we have already made good progress to reduce our budget gap. However, further action is needed between now and February when we will set our final budget.”
The local budget update comes as the national government is about to detail its first autumn budget tomorrow (30 October). However, the final level of funding on offer to West Sussex County Council will not be known until the Local Government Financial Settlement is published in December.
Cllr Jeremy Hunt, West Sussex Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, said: “We are continuing to see a high demand for our services, in particular social care, and next year we are currently predicting we will need to invest an additional £23.9m in vital services. Also, alongside our normal pressures such as inflation, we have the added challenge in setting our budget for 2025/26 of a new Government, who up until this point have not given us any indication of their proposed funding plans for local authorities. This has made the budget setting process extremely challenging.”
The public consultation is due to launch in November. The Cabinet will consider feedback from the public consultation at a meeting in January before recommending budget to Full Council in February for a final decision.