Council Plan 2024/25

Introduction   

This Council Plan sets out our ambitions and what we plan to achieve by 2027 for our four overarching priority outcomes: driving sustainable economic growth; keeping vulnerable people safe; helping people help themselves; and making best use of resources now and for the future.

The Council provides services used by all residents in East Sussex, including providing care and support to children, families and the elderly, maintaining the roads, providing library services, and working to boost the local economy.

We provide services to some of the most vulnerable people in the county, and these services are vital in helping to keep these people safe and helping them to help themselves.

Ongoing cost of living challenges have a significant impact on the lives of many people in East Sussex. We will continue to address these challenges and help to tackle the long-term consequences for local people. The Council has seen a significant increase in the demand for and cost of providing vital services for our residents, particularly the most vulnerable. We will continue to focus our stretched resources on helping those most in need and where we can make the most impact as the financial situation remains challenging.

We plan for and respond to national reforms in major, demand-led service areas, such as adults’ and children’s social care and special educational needs and disability. This includes preparations for the new CQC inspections of adult social care. Current and forecast economic conditions and increased demand for services contribute to a very challenging financial outlook for the Council over the coming years. Without significant additional funding the current demand for services and ongoing projections present an increasingly difficult financial position in the short and medium term, which may impact on our ability to provide certain services.

We are committed to addressing and adapting to the impact of climate change on our county. With that in mind, we will consider the future impact of the choices we make about using resources, as well as the short-term impacts, across all that we do. The Council has updated its corporate Climate Emergency Plan and, as a member of the Environment Board for East Sussex, is playing a key role in delivering some of the programmes and projects set out in the East Sussex Climate Emergency Road Map.

We do not work in isolation, so we will continue to work with all our partners to make sure there is a shared view of priorities and that we make the most of opportunities and resources available locally. We lobby hard to protect and promote the interests of East Sussex.

We work closely with local businesses to identify and promote the conditions needed to grow our local economy in a sustainable way, helping improve access to quality jobs, goods and services for our communities.The Council will continue work to develop and oversee the delivery of a new Economic Growth Strategy. The strategy will help create a more productive economy which will mean increased wealth for our businesses and residents. We have a vision for a more innovative, productive and sustainable East Sussex economy, and the strategy will set out the steps we will take to achieve that.

We will build on our long-established partnerships with health and care organisations to help deliver joined-up care and to ensure that the most vulnerable receive the support they need in a timely manner. A key partner in East Sussex is the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector. The VCSE organisations are often the first to respond to the needs of communities, and provide specialist support that is often not available from other providers. Through working together we can ensure that our residents have the local support to access the different services they need in order to be able to live an independent life.

We consider equality, diversity and inclusion impacts throughout all aspects of our business planning processes. This ensures that our planned priorities are based on a good understanding of diversity and local needs and that we identify and respond to opportunities to remove barriers and maximise positive outcomes. We monitor the outcomes for people sharing different characteristics so that we understand our impact.

Our planning for the years ahead continues to be underpinned by a relentless focus on our priority outcomes and their supporting delivery outcomes. These priority and delivery outcomes shape the Council Plan performance measures and targets that are the main tool we use to assess our progress. We also keep track of a wide range of related key data evidencing local need in East Sussex.

The performance measures help us assess our impact more fully and respond appropriately when we need to do so. We review this data when making our plans and publish them with our State of the County report each year. A selection of this information is provided throughout the plan and listed in more detail at the end.

Our priorities and delivery outcomes

The Priority Outcomes

The Council has four overarching priority outcomes: driving sustainable economic growth; keeping vulnerable people safe; helping people help themselves; and making best use of resources now and for the future. Making best use of resources now and for the future is the gateway priority through which any activity and accompanying resources must pass. For each priority outcome there are specific delivery outcomes.

Driving sustainable economic growth - delivery outcomes

· East Sussex businesses are supported to succeed and grow sustainably

· The county is an attractive place to live, work and do business

· Individuals, communities and businesses thrive in East Sussex with the environmental, and social infrastructure to meet their needs

· The workforce has and maintains the skills needed for good quality employment to meet the needs of the current and future East Sussex economy

· The value of our role as both a significant employer and a buyer of local goods and services is maximised

· All children progress well from early years through school and into post-16 education, training and employment

Keeping vulnerable people safe - delivery outcomes

· All vulnerable people in East Sussex are known to relevant local agencies and services are delivered together to meet their needs

· People feel safe at home and well supported by their networks

· Children grow up supported by enduring, loving relationships

· People feel safe with services

· We work with the wider health and care system to support people to achieve the best outcomes possible

Helping people help themselves - delivery outcomes

· Commissioners and providers from all sectors put people first when providing services and information to help them meet their needs

· The most vulnerable get the support they need to maintain their independence and this is provided at or as close to home as possible

· Through working well with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, individuals, families and communities are supported to thrive

Making best use of resources now and for the future - delivery outcomes

· To help tackle Climate Change East Sussex County Council activities are carbon neutral as soon as possible and in any event by 2050

· We work as One Council

· We work in strong and sustained partnership with the public, voluntary community, social enterprise and private sectors to ensure that our collective resources and influence are used to deliver maximum benefits

· Ensuring we achieve value for money in the services we commission and provide

· Maximising the funding available through bidding for funding and lobbying for the best deal for East Sussex

· We are an employer of choice and support our staff to achieve and develop, ensuring we have the workforce we need to deliver services both now and in the future

Priority - Driving sustainable economic growth

Priority Overview

A thriving economy in East Sussex is key to the wellbeing of the county. Ensuring that local people have access to relevant training and employment, well designed local infrastructure and services, a positively managed environment and accessible cultural activities, will have a positive impact on their wellbeing, enabling them to live independently of public sector support or benefits. Supporting our economy to recover and grow sustainably will help our communities to be more resilient and our businesses to be more competitive.

1.1  Economic Recovery

Delivery outcome: East Sussex businesses are supported to succeed and grow sustainably

Working with partners we will develop and oversee the delivery of a new Economic Growth Strategy to boost the local economy. This will build on our Economic Insight Analysis, which set out the evidence base for a range of interventions that will have most impact on the economy, particularly in relation to productivity, innovation and pre-scale up businesses. Support will include using Shared Prosperity Funding from our district and borough partners to deliver a specialist business support programme across the county. We will also work to shape new ways to attract more investment into the economy.

Trading Standards will continue to offer assistance to businesses in East Sussex to ensure they continue to adapt and thrive. We provide advice and training to businesses, enabling them to market their goods confident that they are legally compliant. We will continue to advise businesses on the changed regulatory regimes brought about by the UK’s departure from the EU in December 2020. We have also worked with Newhaven Port to introduce inspection regimes to ensure that only safe and compliant goods are imported and available to the public.

1.2  Employment and productivity

Delivery outcome: The county is an attractive place to live, work and do business

We will build on the county’s economic strengths and unique characteristics to drive economic growth in sectors with the most potential to grow and provide employment. We will build on the areas where the county performs strongly, such as the creative industries, the visitor economy, construction, engineering, health and social care, and food and drink production. We will also look to the future to attract and retain new businesses that will provide the jobs of tomorrow.

We will continue to deliver our grants and loans programme, East Sussex Invest, to support job creation and sustainable growth, and will deliver the Newhaven Town Deal Grants programme on behalf of Lewes District Council.

We will continue to work with the district and borough councils in East Sussex to implement the schemes and projects funded by the Government through their Town Deals and Levelling Up Fund, Levelling Up Partnerships and the new Long Term Plan for Towns.

The Government announced in August 2023 that the functions and responsibilities of Local Enterprise Partnerships would pass to upper tier local authorities from April 2024. As the Council takes on these responsibilities, we will continue to deliver the Local Enterprise Partnership funded projects and influence the local Economic Growth Strategy.

1.3 Local infrastructure

Delivery outcome: Individuals, communities and businesses thrive in East Sussex with the environmental and social infrastructure to meet their needs

Businesses can only thrive if they have the local infrastructure they need and access to the right skills in the local workforce. The Council’s seven-year highway maintenance contract with Balfour Beatty Living Places commenced on 1 May 2023. The contract includes strong quality requirements, carbon reduction targets and enhanced social value, providing more apprenticeships and training and community benefits. We are continuing to invest in our highways to maintain safe road conditions. This includes a programme of resurfacing and patching work along with a larger programme of surface dressing, which helps prolong the life of a road. The additional funding we have invested, on top of the funding we received from Government, will allow us to address a greater proportion of the county’s roads than grant funding alone would enable us to do and provide greater resilience to the network.

We also coordinate street works, deliver public realm schemes and local transport infrastructure improvements to cope with the changing but increasing demand on the network. A number of infrastructure projects will continue or be delivered in 2024/25, including improvements to Terminus Road in Eastbourne, walking and cycling improvements in Eastbourne and Bexhill and progressing the project to replace Exceat Bridge. We will continue updating our Local Transport Plan, with the new plan scheduled to run until 2050. We will seek the adoption and early implementation of the new plan in 2024/25. The plan will consider how transport can help support sustainable economic recovery and growth in the county and improve the economic connectivity of East Sussex whilst also working towards achieving the Council’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Business in the 21st century needs modern digital infrastructure. Our e-Sussex project to rollout super and ultra-fast broadband across the county has improved access to services, jobs and education, and has helped support flexible working.

We will complete the final stages of our broadband contract in 2024/25 to provide higher broadband speeds for residents and businesses with over 99% of the county now having access to superfast speeds of over 30mbps and 69% having access to gigabit-capable speeds. We will continue to work with Government to support its plans to deliver gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure, ensuring East Sussex receives as much investment as possible and that any new contract generates social value benefits for our businesses and residents.

Transport for the South East (TfSE) is a sub-national transport body representing sixteen Local Transport Authorities. TfSE’s Transport Strategy, published in 2020 presents a vision for the region and sets out a plan for how to get there. Achieving that vision will require significant investment in a better transport network. The TfSE Strategic Investment Plan is the blueprint for future investment in strategic transport infrastructure in the South East for the next thirty years. Over the next 12 months TfSE will be implementing their Delivery Action Plan to deliver the interventions identified in this ambitious plan.

The Council has developed an Enhanced Partnership following the launch of the Government’s National Bus Strategy ‘Bus Back Better’ alongside leading on the development of an East Sussex Bus Service Improvement Plan. The East Sussex Bus Service Improvement Plan aims to deliver to East Sussex residents and visitors the highest possible quality bus services that provide frequent and comprehensive choice, reduces congestion, and makes a positive contribution to better air quality and decarbonisation. East Sussex received a funding allocation of £41.4m over 2.5 years to March 2025, the third highest for shire/rural authorities, and the highest per head of population amongst these authorities. Changes to services that will be rolled out in 2024/25 will include improvements to existing services, delivering flexible services to areas with no service or a limited service, fare reductions and improvements to bus stop infrastructure.

The Council will take on new duties and responsibilities arising from the Government’s Environment Act. We will work with our partners to develop a Local Nature Recovery Strategy for East Sussex and Brighton and Hove, with the aim of the strategy being adopted by spring 2025. The Environment Act also outlined a number of changes to waste and recycling services. We are working with our partners to understand the implications of these for our services and together will plan for their implementation as further details become available.

1.4  Workforce skills

Delivery outcome: The workforce has and maintains the skills needed for good quality employment to meet the needs of the current and future East Sussex economy

We want all local people to have the skills they need to succeed and for businesses to have access to a skilled workforce. We will work with post-16 providers, strategic partners, and businesses through Skills East Sussex (SES) and priority sector task groups to understand and respond to local skills needs and economic priorities. This includes the priorities set to be achieved by 2030 for recovery, upskilling the workforce, supporting the unemployed and looking ahead to the skills the economy will need for a net-zero and digitised future.

Through our partnerships we will deliver a range of programmes to improve careers provision for young people and promote and deliver work-based training via schemes such as Apprenticeships and T-Levels. We will support those who are furthest from the workplace through careers, pre-employment and digital inclusion initiatives.

We are a major employer in East Sussex and are committed to supporting the on-going investment in continuous professional development of our staff. The Council has been paying the Apprenticeship Levy of approximately £1m per year since 2017. We have successfully implemented a workforce-based approach and have developed a strategy and action plan to maximise our draw down of the Levy to support employing new apprentices and to support current staff receiving qualifying apprenticeship training. We will continue to address identified areas of skills and employment shortages within the county by also using the levy scheme to fund apprenticeships in local small and medium businesses.

1.5  Our role

Delivery outcome: The value of our role as both a significant employer and a buyer of local goods and services is maximised

As a body with significant spending power in the county we constantly review our procurement processes to ensure they are accessible to local suppliers, maximise the use of local providers in the supply chains, and secure added economic, social and environmental benefits. To support this, we have launched the refreshed East Sussex Social Value Marketplace, which enables the sharing of resources across our suppliers, communities, and charity partners. The Council is also dedicated to its responsibilities on mitigating modern slavery in supply chains.

The seven-year Highways and Infrastructure Services Contract with Balfour Beatty Living Places is expected to deliver the equivalent of £180m worth of social value benefits (around 62% of contract value). This includes a commitment to deliver 60% of the contract value through local supply chains, in addition to delivering apprenticeships, creating local jobs and providing a wide range of employability support.

In response to the current recruitment and retention challenges, the Council is seeking to maximise the use of apprenticeships, traineeships, intern arrangements and more flexible working arrangements as a way of attracting new talent. In support of this, we are attending events such as careers fairs to maximise our presence with job seekers. We are also linking in with organisations that support people back into employment to extend our reach into sections of the labour market that are underrepresented or face significant barriers to employment.

The adult social care sector in East Sussex provides employment for around 21,000 people. We will continue our key role in shaping and supporting a sustainable market so that the wider adult social care sector can continue to make a valuable contribution to the local economy.

1.6  Children

Delivery outcome: All children progress well from early years through school and into post-16 education, training and employment

We want local people to have the skills they need to succeed and all children to progress well from early years through school and into education, training and employment.

Our partnership infrastructure remains the key local mechanism for delivering our shared ambitions. We will continue to work collaboratively to build capacity across the system for school-led improvement. We will work in partnership, within available resources, to meet the needs of all pupils and deliver excellent educational outcomes.

We will continue to place a strong focus on our most disadvantaged pupils to ensure that they achieve consistently high outcomes. We will also work closely with every school, setting and college to secure a strong special educational needs and disability offer which makes education accessible to all children in their local community school.

Educational attainment is negatively affected by poor rates of attendance. We will maintain our focus on supporting schools and work closely with providers to secure good attendance and reduce the level of suspensions and exclusions for all groups of children and young people. We will provide support to families and monitor children and young people who have long-term poor attendance.

We will work with our partners to promote and secure participation in post 16 education and training, including provision and support for vulnerable groups and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities. We will ensure that we prepare young people for work by providing good quality careers guidance and work experience. We will continue to provide targeted 1 to 1 support for vulnerable groups via the Youth Employability Service and we will implement robust tracking and data analysis to inform interventions that will improve transition and progression to post 16 education, training and employment.

East Sussex has been selected by the Government to be one of thirty-one local authorities to pilot key reforms outlined in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Green Paper Implementation Plan, as part of the national change programme.

1.7  Planned work

Examples of planned work during 2024/25

· Jointly with Team East Sussex we will publish and begin overseeing the delivery of the new Economic Growth Strategy

· We will establish a Local Visitor Economy Partnership with West Sussex County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council and other partners to support the sustainability, accessibility and growth of tourism across the whole of Sussex.

· We will work with Towner Eastbourne to maximise the legacy of the Turner Prize coming to Eastbourne in 2023

· We will deliver at least 60% of the Council’s circa £400m procurement spend through local companies

· We will work with stakeholders to further evolve the approach to social value, targeting areas where sector-specific factors require tailored approaches. This includes working with areas where supply chains are characterised by high levels of Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector contribution

· We will work to improve the transition for children to post-16 education and to develop the range of provision on offer at post-16 including supported employment opportunities

Priority - Keeping vulnerable people safe

Priority Overview

Safeguarding vulnerable children and adults is one of our key priorities and responsibilities to the community.

There will always be children and adults who cannot be looked after at home by their families. For vulnerable children who cannot be looked after at home by their families, we aim to intervene early and find permanent or long-term placements for them through fostering or adoption where appropriate. We will be ambitious so that they can achieve their best. We will also ensure that vulnerable adults are safeguarded whether they are looked after at home or somewhere else.

2.1 Vulnerable people

Delivery outcome: All vulnerable people in East Sussex are known to relevant local agencies and services are delivered together to meet their needs

One of our key objectives is that there is an effective multi-agency early help and child protection system, which ensures that children and young people who are, or are likely to be, at risk of harm are identified, supported and protected. This is part of a wider multi-agency safeguarding system, underpinned by strong statutory multi-agency governance and scrutiny by the East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership.

The Council is part of the Children and Young People’s Trust network of organisations. Through the Trust we aim to work across public services such as health, social care, education, criminal justice and probation, in addition to working alongside partners in the statutory and voluntary sector, to progress our joint priorities.

The Department for Education has published its response to the Stable Homes, Built on Love Implementation Strategy and consultation, which sets out the Government’s vision for reform of children’s social care. We will be responding to the changes in guidance alongside our statutory agency partners as they are rolled out.

The number of children in our care and the complexity of children’s needs has continued to rise. We want children to stay close to the people and places they know, where it is best for them to do so. This is not always possible because demand outstrips supply of care placements locally and nationally. We are working to overcome these challenges through investing in earlier intervention and support to families, further investment in recruitment and retaining our foster carers, and our ability to secure the right care for the right child for the right length of time, through an approach called Valuing Care.

As part of our work to support children to grow up in supportive, safe environments we will continue to support families with complex needs through the Government’s Supporting Families programme. We continue to extend the number of teams and services taking a whole family approach both internally and also in the work we commission. We will identify as many external funding streams as possible to sustain or increase family support programmes and youth work.

We will also continue our work to safeguard vulnerable adults through the Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB). This is a multi-agency partnership, made up of statutory and voluntary partners as well as lay members, established to promote well-being and oversee Safeguarding Adults work county-wide.

It is important that vulnerable adults and their families can access the information and support they need. Health and Social Care Connect, the Adult Social Care and Health contact centre, continues to provide a single point for information, advice and access to community health and social care services seven days a week, from 8am to 8pm.

The Council expects to undertake the Adult Social Care CQC Assurance Process in 2024/25 and it is a priority objective for our Adult Social Care and Health department to continue preparing for that CQC assessment.

The Council is a lead member of the Sussex Integrated Care System (ICS) which brings together the NHS, Local Authorities, and other partners in Sussex through the statutory Sussex Health and Care Assembly and NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board. The Council also jointly facilitates the East Sussex Health and Care Partnership with the local NHS, to ensure a strong focus on the health and care needs of the East Sussex population, driven by the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and the priorities set out in our East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Strategy Healthy Lives, Healthy People 2022 – 2027.

We will continue to pursue a range of projects and initiatives aimed at improving the mental health and wellbeing of East Sussex residents. We are committed to supporting people in crisis, including those at risk of suicide. We will work with colleagues across Sussex to progress the recommendations of the new Sussex Suicide Prevention Strategy (2024-27). This will include a local programme of activity and continuation of our work to reduce deaths at coastal locations.

We will continue to work in a cross-county partnership to ensure all migrants and the communities they settle in can achieve independence and wellbeing. East Sussex has welcomed arrivals from many countries through dedicated resettlement and visa schemes. One of the largest cohorts to arrive in East Sussex are Ukrainian people. We continue to support Ukrainian families towards independence and wellbeing as East Sussex residents. This means ensuring all Ukrainians can access support with welfare and wellbeing, English language, employment and routes into independent accommodation.

2.2 Safe at home

Delivery outcome: People feel safe at home and well supported by their networks

We work with partners, including health services, police, ambulance, and fire and rescue services, to ensure people are safeguarded and able to live independently and free from abuse. We will raise awareness of safeguarding issues and enquire into concerns of abuse.

We support the most vulnerable families, helping them to find ways to manage independently and cope with problems so that they can stay together where possible and achieve better outcomes for children and parents.

Early Help services support families to tackle their problems before they become more difficult to reverse. We will continue to deliver this through an integrated service with health visitors as part of the 0-19 Early Help service alongside the development of Family Hubs. The aim is to provide earlier support and prevent escalation to more intensive specialist services as this is better for families and helps to manage demand for higher cost services. The new Early Intervention Partnership Strategy sets out a system wide approach, working with health, education and community and voluntary services to shape our priorities. Part of the delivery of the strategy work in 2024/25 will include earlier identification of needs, keywork with vulnerable families and early years family support services integrated with delivery of the Healthy Child Programme by our health visitors. It will also include provision of earlier emotional wellbeing support and evidence-based youth work with vulnerable young people.

Our Early Help offer has been further enhanced by a significant investment in our Early Help level 2 keywork team. In 2024/25 the team will work in collaboration with education colleagues to ensure a joined-up approach to improving attendance.

We also offer universal, open-access and drop-in early help services for children, families and young people where these are fully externally funded. We provide support to young people and families through our network of 11 family hubs and four youth centres.

We work in partnership to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse and help victims to stay safe from harm. This includes providing support services and raising awareness of domestic abuse across the county. An increasing number of domestic violence referrals in East Sussex relate to people aged over 65. However, the number of older victims accessing support from domestic abuse services remains disproportionately low. We are increasing awareness of domestic abuse amongst older residents, and the support which is available to them. Through our partnership work we also continue to support East Sussex residents to address drug and alcohol misuse, sustain their recovery and to prevent drug and alcohol related deaths.

Our Trading Standards service helps to protect vulnerable people from exploitation such as rogue traders and cold callers. We also investigate food fraud, illicit tobacco and counterfeit alcohol to protect people from the increased risks associated with these. These services are provided in partnership with the police and other agencies to ensure an effective level of prevention and support work is offered to the residents and businesses of East Sussex.

2.3 Supportive relationships

Delivery outcome: Children grow up supported by enduring, loving relationships

Our aim is to ensure that all children grow up supported by enduring, loving relationships. We will embed the family safeguarding approach of practice and our Connected Families team which delivers earlier intensive multi-disciplinary support and interventions to families of children in need and children subject to child protection planning. This model involves professionals from different agencies working together to support families to identify and implement the changes they need to make to ensure children can remain safely at home.

2.4 Support services

People feel safe with services

While we aim to help people stay safe and independent, this is not always possible. There will always be children and young people who cannot be cared for at home and with their families. Where it is clear this is the case for children, we will intervene early and find permanent or long-term, cost effective, placements for them through fostering or adoption where appropriate. Vulnerable adults that cannot cope by themselves need to have support services that are safe and of good quality. We will continue to monitor satisfaction with our commissioned services including through service user evaluations.

Together with our residents and partners, the Council has developed What Matters to You, an Adult Social Care strategy for the county, The strategy includes six strategic priorities and complements and aligns to the strategic plans set out both nationally in People At The Heart Of Care, and locally in Healthy lives, healthy people: East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board strategy and the Improving Lives Together strategy - Sussex Health and Care. We will deliver key actions resulting from the strategy including developing new methods to deliver training, helping our staff signpost residents onto external support in the community and communicating more clearly what adult social care can offer. We will also help to improve access to financial information, guidance and advice, look to develop the use of technology to enable people to live in suitable homes and take steps to address loneliness.

2.5 Health

Delivery outcome: We work with the wider health and care system to support people to achieve the best outcomes possible

Public Health aims to improve life expectancy and the quality of life by addressing health inequalities with partners which include the Government, the Sussex Integrated Care System, district and borough councils, education, business, and the VCSE sector. We will address local need and Public Health programmes will be delivered (in line with the conditions and statutory obligations of the Public Health Grant) to ensure our residents have better beginnings, and healthier and longer lives. We will work in a wide range of settings through local outbreak planning and management, screening, immunisation and emergency planning and preparedness, to ensure the combined efforts of all relevant agencies and professions have the maximum impact.

We will work collaboratively with partners in education, employment, housing and planning to achieve better health, building on community assets, social prescribing and resilience aligned to the wider programmes of the Sussex Shared Delivery Plan. The Council’s One You East Sussex service provides support to people to quit smoking, improving their lives and the lives of those around them.

The Sussex Integrated Care Strategy Improving Lives Together builds on our East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and sets out our ambition for a healthier future for everyone in Sussex over the next five years. The approach will have a greater focus on keeping people healthy, supporting all aspects of people’s lives and the specific needs of children and young people, as well as living well and ageing well as adults and having a good end of life. To support this a 5-year Shared Delivery Plan has been developed. The Shared Delivery Plan includes our ongoing East Sussex collaborative programmes for children and young people, mental health and improving health outcomes, as well as the Sussex Health and Care Assembly’s priority to maximise the potential of partnerships and a new joined-up community approach through the development of Integrated Community Teams.

The Council continues to work to support the care market in the county and ensure people receive the most appropriate level of care in the most appropriate setting. Discharge To Assess / Home First pathways support timely discharges from hospital freeing up capacity in the NHS. Our Joint Community Reablement team also support hospital discharges, 68% of clients that were supported by the team in 2023/24 did not require on-going care.

2.6 Planned work

Examples of planned work during 2024/25

· We will work as part of the East Sussex Safer Communities Partnership to develop multi-agency approaches to tackle drug and alcohol-related harm by sharing expertise and resources across the council, policing and probation, Public Health, and the VCSE sector

· We will continue to develop a new Connected Families service for teenagers on the edge of care

· We will work to deliver the actions in the adult social care strategy “What Matters To You” 

· We will support people who have been a victim of sexual violence and domestic abuse through the specialist domestic abuse and sexual violence services

· We will continue to help prevent vulnerable people from becoming a victim of mass marketing fraud and intervene if people have already become a victim

· We will continue to protect people from the increased risks associated with food fraud, illicit tobacco and counterfeit alcohol through the risk based investigations undertaken by Trading Standards

Priority - Helping people help themselves

Priority Overview

Whilst we must keep vulnerable people safe, people prefer and need to be independent. If we can encourage families and communities to work together to build better local communities, meet local need, and support individuals to stay independent, we can meet our objectives of breaking dependency, while reducing demand for services and therefore costs. Helping people to be self-supporting will become increasingly important as the resources available to public services decline.

3.1 Putting people first

Delivery outcome: Commissioners and providers from all sectors put people first when providing services and information to help them meet their needs

One of the best things we can do to support people is to focus very clearly on their needs when designing and providing services and when we make information available so people can help themselves.

Our focus is to provide people with the support they need as early as possible to help them remain healthy and independent. When they need them, our services will be provided by integrated health and care teams, meaning their care will be more efficient and personal, delivered by one system.

By providing support as early as possible it should mean that people don’t need health and care services as much. But when they do, we will make sure they can get services quickly, easily and, before they reach crisis point.

We want to ensure that local people receive the right services, in the right place, at the right time. This may mean they access and use services differently. We aim to empower them with the knowledge of how to best use available health and social care services, and how to best get the support they need.

We will provide information and advice for all those seeking care and support. We will provide support that reduces the need for social care in the longer term and/or prevents the need for a more expensive service. We will continue to work with health partners to support hospital discharge. We will also work with partners in the NHS and the VCSE, and with carers and carers’ organisations, to develop a new strategic carer’s partnership plan to help support the needs of carers. This will include increased identification of carers taking account of those who may not access services as early as others such as carers from minority communities, those living with disabilities, or those with multiple caring roles.

Health inequalities are avoidable, unfair and systematic differences in health between different groups of people. We will ensure that tackling health inequalities is a principle applied throughout all aspects of our business planning processes and service delivery.

We provide online access to information, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families, about services and expertise available in the area from a range of local organisations, including providers of education, health and social care. We will use feedback from service users to improve the quality and accessibility of this information and address any gaps.

We help improve the lives and outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, helping them to achieve their full potential at home, in school, educational settings and in their communities. This includes being well-prepared for adult life. Our Special Educational Needs and Disability Strategy sets out how we will work across education, social care, health to improve access to provision and support for children and families. We will carry out statutory assessments of children with special educational needs and disabilities where there are significant barriers to learning and we will work with educational settings to secure the right education provision and support them.

We are committed to ongoing co-production and participation activities to ensure the voice of children and young people and their families and users of adult support services is central to the development of services and decision making.

3.2 Maintaining independence

Delivery outcome: The most vulnerable get the support they need to maintain their independence and this is provided at or as close to home as possible

It is often best if people in need of care and support receive this at home, if possible, with the help of friends and family. We work to ensure that people’s homes are safe, providing access to care services, and personal budgets so that people can choose the care and support they need.

We will work with residents, local organisations and services to develop a new service to help people think about, plan for and manage their later life. We aim to make the new service available in-person, online and through a new digital app. Alongside this we will also develop our community equipment offer through expanding equipment assessment capacity with a Trusted Assessor approach and providing advice and self-assessment options for people who choose to purchase equipment.

Education is a protective factor against many of the risks to good mental health and wellbeing that face children and young people across East Sussex. Our Excellence for All strategy will provide opportunities for schools and settings to develop communities which promote good mental health and wellbeing.

Mental Health Support Teams continue to operate in 75 targeted schools, covering approximately 52% of our school age population. The teams deliver high quality interventions to support children and young people with mild to moderate difficulties who are referred to the service. We have reshaped our internal structures to create an Education Division. This allows us to take forward plans to support all schools within the county with a cohesive offer of whole school approach and a central training calendar. This, combined with a county-wide offer of support for parents and carers, is part of strategic work to deliver a more equitable offer across the county in terms of supporting schools with mental health and emotional wellbeing. One of our priorities for 2024/25 is to provide accessible high-quality advice, guidance and self-help for children and young people, their families and practitioners.

3.3 Local mutual support systems

Delivery outcome: Through working well with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, individuals, families and communities are supported to thrive

People, families and communities across East Sussex have huge potential to thrive and to support each other. There is a substantial infrastructure of public, voluntary and community sector work across the county that can seek to help local people achieve their ambitions.

We work with partners and residents across the county to help local communities thrive and tackle some of the most difficult issues that impact on people’s happiness and wellbeing, such as loneliness.

We are working with partners across health, social care, the voluntary and community sector, and others to increase community and personal resilience in East Sussex. We aim to increase volunteering; improve and coordinate support to strengthen communities; and help individuals to improve their own health and well-being and take action to prevent disease and ill health.

Community Networks provide a range of prevention support, access to practical help and increase the availability of social opportunities to local communities. In 2024/25 the Council will develop a Community Networks Support Programme, to support stronger connections and mutual support between the VCSE and public sector.

The Council provides cost of living support webpages to help residents access information about money advice, employment and skills, and how to access benefits and grants. The Council is also part of a multi-agency financial inclusion steering group with representatives from a range of statutory sectors and the VCSE sector. Amongst its priorities is to maximise funding opportunities across the system, improve the take up of benefits and grants and provide access to the right information, advice and support at the right time.

Collisions on our roads can have a terrible human cost. We will complete 24 infrastructure schemes at high-risk sites in 2024/25 to improve the safety on our road network. Cycling supports an active lifestyle, benefitting fitness and general wellbeing. To encourage cycling and improve road safety we will deliver Bikeability training to 4,000 pupils and complete 100 Wheels for All sessions in 2024/25.

3.4 Planned work

Examples of planned work during 2024/25

· We will continue to develop the Local Offer website which provides information and advice to families and children with special educational needs and disabilities

· Following an independent review of young people’s emotional health and wellbeing services across Sussex, the East Sussex Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing (MHEW) Planning Group will drive and oversee improvements in MHEW services in East Sussex as part of implementing the Sussex-wide strategy ‘Foundations for our Future’

· We will continue to support the needs of carers in the community, including by providing more intensive support with short-term crisis intervention 

· We will help people to maintain their independence by providing rehabilitation support services and intermediate care

· Our One You service will help people to quit smoking

· We will deliver road safety training for the most vulnerable road users in the county through Bikeability training and Wheels for All sessions

· We will design and implement road safety infrastructure schemes at high-risk sites to make our roads safer

Priority – Making best use of resources now and for the future

Priority Overview

This priority underpins all our activities and is a key measure of success for all our priority outcomes. It applies to all the resources available for East Sussex, not only within the Council, but across the public sector, voluntary and community sector and private partners, and within local communities. We will work as a single unified organisation to deliver our priorities; ensuring high quality, streamlined services are commissioned and developed in partnership; working to reduce demand for services and focusing on our residents and communities. We will ensure that the decisions we take are sustainable both now and for the future, ensuring they provide best value for money and support our ambitions to become carbon neutral.

4.1 Carbon Neutral

Delivery outcome: To help tackle Climate Change East Sussex County Council activities are carbon neutral as soon as possible and in any event by 2050

We will build on our earlier work to ensure Council activities are carbon neutral as soon as possible and in any event by 2050. We will continue to implement our corporate Climate Emergency Plan for 2023-25. This includes a focus on reducing the carbon emissions from our buildings, as well as committing capital investment on heat decarbonisation in our schools and non-school buildings. The Council has committed an additional £9.9m of funding up to March 2025 to cut corporate carbon emissions.

During 2024/25 we will continue to roll out our LED lighting programme and to install solar PV (photovoltaic) panels on Council properties and bid for external funding to support the heat decarbonisation of additional sites. We will also undertake energy efficiency projects outside these schemes to lower energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions.

We will continue work to reduce carbon emissions from our supply chain. In line with our new Supply Chain Carbon Reduction Strategy we will establish an understanding of emissions amongst the Council’s diverse supply chain, opportunities to reduce these emissions, and the challenges or support required for any reductions.

4.2 One Council

Delivery outcome: We work as one Council

We will ensure that we work in a unified way so that resources are focused on delivering our priority outcomes. This means minimising the cost of back-office services and directing resources to frontline services. We will focus on delivering services close to local people in the most cost-effective way possible. We will also continue to work to exploit technology effectively as an enabler for providing efficient services.

The impact of the pandemic has created a large-scale shift to how organisations operate and has provided an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate our planned changes to how we work in the future. We will continue to invest in enabling technology and evolve our working practices to ensure we have modern, flexible workspaces and work styles that enable hybrid ways of working, building on the success of existing flexible working options. We will review our office estate as part of this work, ensuring that it is the right size for our future needs. New working practices will drive efficiency, as well as significantly reducing carbon emissions through a reduced requirement for staff travel.

We continue to identify new opportunities to harness the power of technology to support new ways of working, connect with partners and support the delivery of resident and community outcomes through our Strategic Digital Framework. We will put people at the centre of our approach to implementing new technologies, whilst ensuring that these support our commitment to achieving best value for money.

The Managing Back Office Systems programme will continue the work to implement a new Oracle Fusion system to replace the Council’s core finance and Human Resources systems. The improvements delivered by the new system will help support our new working practices.  

4.3 Working in partnership

Delivery outcome: We work in strong and sustained partnership with the public, voluntary community, social enterprise and private sectors to ensure that our collective resources and influence are used to deliver maximum benefits

We will work in partnership across the public, voluntary and community, and private sectors to ensure that all appropriate available resources are used to deliver maximum benefits to local people. We will be proactive in making the best use of our assets, sharing property, staff, technology and data with partners so we work as efficiently as possible, removing duplication and increasing flexibility. We will join with partners to seek opportunities to achieve better value through our procurement.

Collaboration is important as we continue to support our residents and businesses dealing with challenges around the cost of living.

Orbis, our partnership with Surrey County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council for some of our back-office services, has allowed us to provide efficient and resilient services while achieving savings which are being used to sustain services for residents of all three areas.

The Strategic Property Asset Collaboration in East Sussex was formed by a number of public and third sector organisations coming together in partnership. Together we continue to look for opportunities to co-locate and collaborate around property, to ensure cost effectiveness and to improve the customer journey by creating more effective environments to deliver services from.

4.4 Value for money

Delivery outcome: Ensuring we achieve value for money in the services we commission and provide

Across all our resources, services, and partnerships we will seek to achieve the maximum positive impact to deliver our priority outcomes for people in East Sussex.

We will ensure the best value for money from our spend with third parties. We are actively working to strengthen our planning processes to enable better strategic decision making in this area and maximise value for money.

We are continuing to review our properties (excluding schools) to assess the needs of the organisation and ensure these are being used in the most efficient way. This includes reviewing the potential for income generation from our properties.

Work continues to ensure our office spaces are suitable for Council staff and business. This has led to a smaller footprint for dedicated office space and we will, over time, be able to reduce the cost of occupancy in all of our corporate buildings.  This reduction in office space will also support the Council’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions.

We continue to identify opportunities for the development of digital and data capabilities across the Council, supporting the exploration and use of new and emerging technology, including AI and automation, to increase productivity and help free up staff capacity for other priorities.

4.5 Maximising funding

Delivery outcome: Maximising the funding available through bidding for funding and lobbying for the best deal for East Sussex

We will continue to take all opportunities to raise the distinct funding needs of the Council with Government, to address the long-term fair funding needs of our services. We will work with partners to press for the best outcomes for the county, lobbying with our local MPs and with our local, regional and national partners including the South East 7, County Councils Network (CCN), Society of County Treasurers and Local Government Association (LGA).

However, the current and forecast economic conditions present an increasingly difficult financial outlook for the Council in the short and medium term and may impact on our ability to deliver some services in the future.

4.6 Employer of choice

Delivery outcome: We are an employer of choice and support our staff to achieve and develop, ensuring we have the workforce we need to deliver services both now and in the future

We are committed to the development of our workforce and continue to embed our People Strategy into our culture. The People Strategy, which is being updated for 2024-2027, supports the delivery of the Council’s priorities and provides the direction and purpose for our people related activities. The Strategy is built around the four pillars of: i) Leadership and Management, ii) Performance, Development and Reward, iii) Employee Engagement and Inclusion and iv) Employee Health and Wellbeing.

We will continue to develop our employer brand ‘We Choose East Sussex’ and continue our work to establish the Council as an ‘employer of choice’. This work includes making updated recruitment materials available, as well as ensuring our workforce policies and approaches support individuals to remain in work, such as our financial wellbeing services, wellbeing offer, occupational health and absence management services.

We continue to support the development of our managers to ensure they are best equipped to meet the continuing challenges we face as an organisation. This is informed by our Leadership and Management Capability Framework which sets out the management and leadership expectations in support of the Council’s priority outcomes and operating principles.

4.7 Planned work

Examples of planned work during 2024/25

· We will reduce the amount of CO₂e produced from Council operations

· We will maintain or reduce the number of working days lost to sickness absence

· We will complete works to provide an ultra-fast digital network that can be used by the Council, its schools, and other public service partners

· We will continue to review our use of assets to ensure effective utilisation of our property and land, with consideration of cost and carbon implications

Equality objectives

The Council recognises the diverse needs of our communities and is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and diversity in employment and service delivery. We challenge discrimination and encourage respect, understanding and dignity for everyone living, working and visiting East Sussex. We do this through our influence in the community, strategic planning and policy formation in employment and service delivery. The Council has reviewed its equality objectives and updated them to define our focus for 2024/25:

· We will lead by example, delivering services that are informed by the views, strengths and needs of our communities and providing an inclusive and supportive working environment for our staff. To help achieve this we will take practical actions on equality, diversity and inclusion as set out in the Corporate Equality Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan.

· We will implement the new service and associated workplace adjustment pathway agreed following the Workplace Adjustments review.

Revenue budget: gross and net

The charts below show how we will spend your revenue budget money in 2024/25, and where the money will come from (gross and net). More information on our revenue budget can be found in our financial budget summary which explains the difference between the gross and net budgets.

How we will spend your money (gross)

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How we will spend your money (net)

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Where the money comes from (gross)

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Where the money comes from (net)

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Revenue Spending

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Adult Social Care

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Public Health

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Business Services

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Children’s Services

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Communities, Economy & Transport

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Governance Services

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Revenue Data

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Capital programme

Capital programme: projects in the year ahead 2024/25

The planned capital programme supports the Council's Capital Strategy to 2043/44. It comprises targeted basic need investment that supports services in the delivery of priority outcomes and is supported by a planned programme to 2032/33. It includes providing for essential school places, investments in roads and transport infrastructure, support for climate change initiatives, enhancing the life of existing assets and ensuring they are fit for purpose, as well as support for strategic investment. Details of the full current capital programme are in our financial budget summary. Below are examples of key projects (to be added) that will be underway in 2024/25 at a cost of £(to be added)m.

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Economic Growth & Strategic Infrastructure

Community & Social Care Facilities

Highways & Structural Maintenance

Integrated Transport Schemes

Schools

Building Maintenance & Efficiency

Capital Resourcing 2023/24 to 2025/26

Because capital projects may take several years to deliver, we need to know how we will fund the full £(to be added) million programme to 2026/27. Details of where this money will come from are given below.

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Promoting equality of opportunity

Equality impact assessment summary report for Council Plan 2024/25

Date of assessment: 10/01/2024

Summary of findings: There are no disproportionate negative impacts on people sharing any specific characteristics. The Council Plan as a whole is designed to support our objectives to promote equality and to address known inequalities. Many services or programmes will have benefits for all people in the county, across all legally protected characteristics. The Council’s approach is to integrate consideration of equality impacts into planning, implementation and monitoring of all activities, so specific needs, assets, barriers and opportunities are assessed individually to maximise positive impacts and avoid or minimise negative impacts.

Summary of recommendations and key points of action plan: Our Council Plan priorities and delivery outcomes are designed to help address identified inequalities in outcomes for different groups in our local community and incorporate our equality objectives. We will take additional actions to mitigate against the potential issues we have identified.

Potential issues	Mitigating actions
Identification of potential disproportionate impacts or issues relating to people sharing specific characteristics that have not been identified at this stage.	The planned work set out in the Council Plan will be taken forward through specific programmes of activity within individual directorates. Robust equality analysis will be undertaken on each planned activity, to ensure that these are designed and implemented in a way that maximises opportunities to promote equality, whilst minimising any adverse impacts.
Our resources do not reflect the demand for services, which may mean we will have to adjust our services to match the funds we have.	Priorities will continue to be defined based on local evidence of need and what works and makes a difference locally. We will continue to be democratic, open and honest in determining the best level and quality of services we can provide, within available resources, and in communicating priorities.
The population of East Sussex is changing, and people’s needs and assets change.	We will work closely with partners, including the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector, to make the most of opportunities, resources and links with diverse communities available locally. We recognise that VCSE organisations are often the first to recognise and respond to the needs of diverse communities and that they provide safe, accessible, and inclusive spaces for individuals, groups and the wider community, that support inclusion and belonging.
COVID19 and the lockdowns and social restrictions have impacted some people and communities sharing protected characteristics worse.	We continue to work to understand the ongoing ways in impacts of the pandemic on people sharing specific characteristics and to address the inequalities that have been revealed and/or worsened. Work across the Council and with statutory and VCSE partners is co-ordinating support and identifying ways to maximise access for vulnerable residents to the advice and support available. Portfolio Plans and service plans identify tailored responses to identified needs.
The effects of the national rise in the cost of living are being disproportionately felt by some people more than others, linked to their characteristics.	Work across the council and with statutory and VCSE sector partners is co-ordinating support and identifying ways to maximise access for vulnerable residents to the advice and support available. Portfolio Plans and service plans identify tailored responses to identified needs.

We will also continue to monitor our impact on outcomes for the people of East Sussex, including differences between outcomes for people sharing different protected characteristics. We will use this information to inform future business planning activities as part of our annual State of the County exercise. We will report quarterly on progress against the activities in the Council Plan, including any issues, as part of our Council Monitoring reports. We will also report on our progress in delivering the actions in this Council Plan that will advance equality as part of our Annual report, which will be published in Autumn 2024.

More information on equality and diversity can be found on our equality and diversity web page.

Performance measures and targets

Targets – Driving sustainable economic growth

Performance measure	2023/24 Outturn (Target)	2024/25 Target	2025/26 Target	2026/27 Target	2024 – 2027 Outcome Summary
Deliver East Sussex Skills priorities for 2021-2026	(a) Adult Learning Network established b) Deliver six interventions that meet the Skills East Sussex priorities c) Deliver six embedded numeracy interventions)	a) Deliver six interventions that meet the Skills East Sussex priorities b) Deliver six embedded numeracy interventions	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	Training providers are developing a curriculum which is informed by sector skills evidence and our local businesses are actively engaged in supporting training provision in the county, supporting sustainable economic development
East Sussex Careers Hub	(East Sussex Careers Hub to support schools to achieve an average of 5 national benchmarks. 210 Industry Champions support schools and colleges in the county)	To be set February 2024 pending expression of confidence in funding allocation	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	Our young people and adults are helped to become aware of careers opportunities available to them, supporting sustainable economic development
Deliver new economic strategy	(Draft economic strategy developed)	Economic Growth Strategy endorsed and adopted by key stakeholders including Team East Sussex	Not applicable strategy delivered	Not applicable strategy delivered	Support the creation of the conditions needed to sustainably grow the East Sussex economy
Create a pan-Sussex visitor economy group to re-start the leisure, hospitality, culture, retail and tourism economy and enhance existing marketing vehicles	(Develop a shared Sussex Story and assets to promote the region. Develop a shared Sussex Meetings, Inceptive, Conferences and Events (MICE) initiative)	Establish a Sussex Local Visitor Economy Partnership and agree a Strategic Plan	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	The visitor economy grows as the visibility of Sussex is raised, perceptions are inhanced. The number of visitors to the coast is increased and the  length of stay and spend is increased.
Create a prioritised list of cultural projects ready for and seeking funding over the value of £100k	(Maintain a list of cultural projects ready for and seeking funding over the value of £100k)	Advise four project sponsors	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	The conditions are created to ensure that East Sussex benefits from one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, the creative economy is grown following fostering of creative startups, creative businesses are upscaled and businesses are attracted into East Sussex
Job creation from East Sussex Programmes	(27 jobs created)	45 jobs created	45 jobs created	To be set 2025/26 (subject to funding)	The East Sussex economy has grown and more jobs are created by supporting the growth of businesses through capital investment
Percentage of Principal roads requiring maintenance	(4%)	7% (to be confirmed subject to further modelling)	7% (to be confirmed subject to further modelling)	7% (to be confirmed subject to further modelling)	A satisfactory standard of road condition across all road types is achieved and maintained
Percentage of Non-Principal roads requiring maintenance	(4%)	8% (to be confirmed subject to further modelling)	8% (to be confirmed subject to further modelling)	8% (to be confirmed subject to further modelling)	A satisfactory standard of road condition across all road types is achieved and maintained
Percentage of Unclassified roads requiring maintenance	(14%)	25% (to be confirmed subject to further modelling)	25% (to be confirmed subject to further modelling)	25% (to be confirmed subject to further modelling)	A satisfactory standard of road condition across all road types is achieved and maintained
Deliver a range of Family Learning programmes across East Sussex to provide high quality learning opportunities for parents/carers and their children to develop English, maths and language skills and to support a culture of learning in the family (subject to external funding)	(500 enrolments across Family English, maths and Language (FEML) and Wider Family Learning (WFL) programmes)	500 enrolments across Family English, maths and Language (FEML) and Wider Family Learning (WFL) programmes	500 enrolments across Family English, maths and Language (FEML) and Wider Family Learning (WFL) programmes	500 enrolments across Family English, maths and Language (FEML) and Wider Family Learning (WFL) programmes	Families, particularly those from areas of deprivation, have intergenerational learning opportunities and develop positive attitudes to learning
In partnership with funding organisations provide online learning (including skills for life and ICT courses) in libraries (subject to contract)	(70 achievements)	75 achievements	75 achievements	75 achievements	People have access to free qualifications that support them into, or back into, work and education
The number of businesses receiving advice and support through training and bespoke advice provided by Trading Standards	(350)	350	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	Businesses in East Sussex are equipped to thrive, comply with the law, and are supported to “get it right first time”
The Council’s Apprenticeship Levy strategy supports the Council’s workforce development and training plans	(Where appropriate Standards exist, to ensure apprenticeship training is available and taken up (subject to the needs of the business), which addresses skills shortages in the Council)	Where appropriate Standards exist, to ensure apprenticeship training is available and taken up (subject to the needs of the business), which addresses skills shortages in the Council	Where appropriate Standards exist, to ensure apprenticeship training is available and taken up (subject to the needs of the business), which addresses skills shortages in the Council	To be set 2025/26	Apprenticeships in the Council provide a positive opportunity for staff to develop and grow, enhancing the Council’s workforce and career opportunities
The percentage of Council procurement spend with local suppliers	(60%)	60%	60%	60%	Local businesses are supported and we help drive economic growth and employment in the county through use of our purchasing power
Economic, social and environmental value committed through contracts, as a percentage of our spend with suppliers	(≥10.0%)	≥10.0%	≥10.0%	≥10%	The Social Value Measurement Charter is used to provide robust measures in eligible contracts that commit suppliers to deliver the Council’s social value objectives
The percentage of eligible 2 year olds who take up a place with an eligible early years provider	(Equal to or above the national average)	Equal to or above the national average	Equal to or above the national average	Equal to or above the national average	All children engage, attain and progress well from early years into education, training and employment
The percentage of pupils achieving a “good level of development” at the Early Years Foundation Stage	(Ac Year 2022/23 Equal to or above the national average)	Ac Year 2023/24 Equal to or above the national average	Ac Year 2024/25 Equal to or above the national average	Ac Year 2025/26 Equal to or above the national average	All children engage, attain and progress well from early years into education, training and employment
Average Attainment 8 score for state funded schools	(Ac Year 2022/23 46.5)	Ac Year 2023/24 To be set March 2024 pending validated outturn data	Ac Year 2024/25 To be set March 2024 pending validated outturn data	Ac Year 2025/26 To be set March 2024 pending validated outturn data	All children engage, attain and progress well from early years into education, training and employment
The percentage of disadvantaged pupils achieving at least the expected standard in each of reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2	(Ac Year 2022/23 37.7%)	Ac Year 2023/24 To be set March 2024 pending validated outturn data	Ac Year 2024/25 To be set March 2024 pending validated outturn data	Ac Year 2025/26 To be set March 2024 pending validated outturn data	The gap for disadvantaged pupils at all Key Stages is kept as small as possible so that all children attain and progress well from early years into education, training and employment
The average Attainment 8 score for disadvantaged pupils	(Ac Year 2022/23 33.3)	Ac Year 2023/24 To be set March 2024 pending validated outturn data	Ac Year 2024/25 To be set March 2024 pending validated outturn data	Ac Year 2025/26 To be set March 2024 pending validated outturn data	The gap for disadvantaged pupils at all Key Stages is kept as small as possible so that all children attain and progress well from early years into education, training and employment
The percentage of young people who are in Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) at academic age 16	(Below 4%)	Below 4%	Below 4%	Below 4%	Young people participate in education, training or employment with training until they are at least 18 improving their long-term employment and health prospects
The percentage of young people who are in Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) at academic age 17	(Below 6%)	Below 6%	Below 6%	Below 6%	Young people participate in education, training or employment with training until they are at least 18 improving their long-term employment and health prospects
Average Attainment 8 score for Looked After Children (LAC)	(Ac Year 2022/23 19)	Ac Year 2023/24 To be set April 2024 pending validated outturn data	Ac Year 2024/25 To be set April 2024 pending validated outturn data	Ac Year 2025/26 To be set April 2024 pending validated outturn data	Looked after Children participate in education, training or employment with training until they are at least 18 improving their long-term employment and health prospects
The percentage of LAC participating in education, training or employment at academic age 16 (Year 12)	(80%)	80%	80%	80%	Looked after Children participate in education, training and employment with training until they are at least 18 improving their long-term employment and health prospects
The percentage of LAC participating in education, training or employment at academic age 17 (Year 13)	(70%)	70%	70%	70%	Looked after Children participate in education, training and employment with training until they are at least 18 improving their long-term employment and health prospects

Targets – Keeping vulnerable people safe

Performance measure	2023/24 Outturn (Target)	2024/25 Target	2025/26 Target	2026/27 Target	2024 – 2027 Outcome Summary
Percentage of Health and Social Care Connect referrals triaged and progressed to required services within 24 hours	(95%)	95%	95%	95%	Services are provided in a timely manner
Health and Social Care Connect – % of contacts that are appropriate and effective (i.e. lead to the provision of necessary additional services)	(95%)	95%	95%	95%	Contacts from health professionals are appropriate and effective
The % of people affected by domestic violence and abuse who have improved safety/support measures in place upon leaving the service	(90%)	90%	90%	90%	Vulnerable people who have been affected by domestic violence are enabled to feel more in control of their life, and better able to make decisions to increase their safety
When they leave the service the % of those affected by rape, sexual violence and abuse who have improved coping strategies	(88%)	88%	88%	88%	Vulnerable people who have been affected by rape, sexual violence and abuse, are protected and provided with skills which enable them to be more in control of their lives and more optimistic about the future
Number of drug and alcohol related deaths in the county	(74)	69	63	58	The number of drug and alcohol related deaths is reduced
Rate of children with a Child Protection Plan (per 10,000 children)	(62 (661 children))	To be set April 2024 pending 2023/24 outturn	To be set April 2024 pending 2023/24 outturn	To be set April 2024 pending 2023/24 outturn	Children at risk from significant harm are kept safe
Rate (of 0-17 population) of referrals to children’s social care services (per 10,000 children)	(≤ 556)	≤556	≤556	≤556	Children at risk from significant harm are kept safe
Rate (of 0-17 population) of assessments started by children’s social care services (per 10,000 children)	(≤ 558)	≤558	≤558	≤558	Children at risk from significant harm are kept safe
Rate of Looked After Children (per 10,000 children)	(63.4 (676 children))	To be set April 2024 pending 2023/24 outturn	To be set April 2024 pending 2023/24 outturn	To be set April 2024 pending 2023/24 outturn	Children at risk from significant harm are kept safe
The number of active interventions for vulnerable people who have been the target of rogue trading or financial abuse	(200)	200	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	Residents of East Sussex are safe in their own home and protected from criminals. Residents are empowered to feel safe and supported to say “no” to criminals and deter and disrupt criminal activity

Targets – Helping people help themselves

Performance measure	2023/24 Outturn (Target)	2024/25 Target	2025/26 Target	2026/27 Target	2024 – 2027 Outcome Summary
Road Safety: Deliver targeted cycle training activities to vulnerable road users	(Deliver Bikeability Training to 4,000 individuals and 100 Wheels for All sessions)	Deliver Bikeability Training to 4,000 individuals and 100 Wheels for All sessions	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	The confidence and skills of cyclists is improved by delivering cycle training to cyclists through targeted Bikeability training sessions delivered at Schools and training centres across the county
Road Safety: Implement infrastructure schemes on identified high risk sites/routes to improve road safety	(Implement 24 safety schemes)	Implement 24 safety schemes	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	The number of crashes and casualties at identified high risk sites/routes sites is reduced through the implementation of infrastructure improvement schemes to improve outcomes for residents, businesses and visitors to East Sussex
National outcome measure: Proportion of working age adults and older people receiving direct payments	(>31.5%)	>31.5%	>31.5%	>31.5%	Adults who require support are able to live as independently as possible
Number of carers supported through short-term crisis intervention	(390)	390	TBC, contract ends March 2025	TBC, contract ends March 2025	Carers are supported when they most need it enabling them to carry on in their caring role
Number of people receiving support through housing related floating support	(7,000)	7,000	7,000	7,000	Adults can maintain their independence
Percentage of respondents who strongly agree or agree that the professionals who are involved in organising and providing their care communicate well with each other and share information to make sure their support is the best it can be (Listening To You)	(>56%)	>56%	>56%	>56%	Through joint and partnership working as part of the East Sussex Health and Care Partnership and Sussex Integrated Care System all available resources are used to deliver maximum benefits to local people and achieve value for money
The proportion of people who received short-term services during the year, where no further request was made for ongoing support	(>90.5%)	>90.5%	>90.5%	>90.5%	Effective early intervention is provided to ensure people are given the support they need as quickly as possible, also reducing the need for more expensive intensive interventions at a later date ensuring the most effective use of resources
National outcome measure: Achieve independence for older people through rehabilitation / intermediate care	(>90%)	>90%	>90%	>90%	Effective early intervention is provided to ensure people are given the support they need as quickly as possible; also reducing the need for more expensive intensive interventions at a later date ensuring the most effective use of resources
Proportion of all new EHC Plans issued within 20 weeks (a) Including Exception Cases  (b) Excluding Exception Cases	((a) 65%  (b) 70%)	(a) 65%  (b) 70%	(a) 65%  (b) 70%	(a) 65%  (b) 70%	All children and young people with SEND with an agreed need for an EHCP receive their plan in a timely way to ensure that they receive appropriate support to achieve their full potential
The proportion of respondents to the feedback surveys who agree that things have changed for the better as a result of getting targeted support from the 0 – 19 Early Help Service	(80%)	80%	80%	80%	The services provided are making a difference to the lives of service users
Successful smoking quits through the OneYou East Sussex service	New measure 2024/25	7% of local smoking population to set a quit date, with 50% achieving four-week quit	7% of local smoking population to set a quit date, with 55% achieving four-week quit	7% of local smoking population to set a quit date, with 60% achieving four-week quit	Increase in number of smokers who make a quit attempt and successfully quit cigarette smoking
GP practices in East Sussex deliver a targeted NHS Health Check service	(10% of the eligible population in the 20% most deprived areas (IMD1) have received a health check)	Increase coverage of IMD1 NHS Health Checks by 9% (i.e., uptake by total eligible population)	Increase coverage of IMD1 NHS Health Checks by 8% (i.e., uptake by total eligible population)	Increase coverage of IMD1 NHS Health Checks by 8% (i.e., uptake by total eligible population)	To reach a 5-year coverage of IMD1 NHS Health Checks of 50% by end of 2026/27

Targets – Making best use of resources

Performance measure	2023/24 Outturn (Target)	2024/25 Target	2025/26 Target	2026/27 Target	2024 – 2027 Outcome Summary
Number of working days lost per FTE (Full Time Equivalent) employee due to sickness absence in non-school services	(9.10)	9.10	9.10	To be set 2025/26	The use of resources is maximised and staff and customer wellbeing improved
Deliver the Property Asset Investment Strategy	(Outline Business cases brought forward against at least 2 priority projects)	6 business cases completed	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	Income generation from property and capital receipts are optimised and our strategy helps promote economic growth across the county
Review use of corporate buildings	(Develop revised office strategy based on 2022/23 review)	Implement reduction of office footprint identified in 2023/24	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	Our corporate buildings better utilise space and enable new ways of working, leading to reduced cost of occupancy in our core corporate buildings
Reduce the amount of CO2 arising from County Council operations	(43% reduction on baseline year (2019/20) emissions (emissions not to exceed 7,139 tonnes CO2e))	50% reduction on baseline year (2019/20) emissions (emissions not to exceed 6,211 tonnes CO2e)	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	A reduction in the amount of CO2 arising from Council operations is recorded on an annual basis, thus reducing the cost of energy to the Council and shrinking the carbon footprint in line with our carbon budget
Progress on implementation of Carbon reduction schemes	(23 energy saving schemes implemented)	23 energy saving schemes implemented	23 energy saving schemes implemented	To be set 2025/26	The Council’s carbon footprint is reduced and our operations support a more sustainable approach going forward
Delivery of Corporate Equality Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan actions planned for the year	(Deliver the key actions within the action plan)	Deliver the key actions within the action plan	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	We lead by example, delivering services that are informed by the views, strengths and needs of our communities and providing an inclusive and supportive working environment for our staff
Achievement of key milestones for the Workplace Adjustments Review	(Completion of appropriate milestones that support the objectives of the Workplace Adjustments Review)	Implementation and monitoring of new Workplace Adjustments activity	To be set 2024/25	To be set 2025/26	Appropriate workplace adjustments are in place for all staff who require them.

State of the County data

We review a wide range of data to help us understand the context for our plans and the impact we are having through our work and in partnership. We publish this data each year in State of the County – Focus on East Sussex, when we start the planning process that leads to this Council Plan. A selection of this data is listed below. Unless otherwise stated the data refers to 2022/23. Where possible official national statistics are used for comparison with the England average.

Driving sustainable economic growth

2022/23
Measure	East Sussex	England
Percentage of working age residents (16-64) with a level 4 qualification or above (includes degrees, Higher National Certificate, Higher National Diploma and others)	33.8% (2021)	37.1% (2021)
Percentage of working age residents (16-64) with no qualifications or qualified only to National Vocational Qualification 1	10.6% (2021)	12.4% (2021)
Annual gross full-time earnings, median average (residence based)	£31,145 (2022)	£33,208 (2022)
Percentage of working age population (16-64) in employment	76.2% (2021)	75.4% (2021)
People claiming unemployment benefits (JSA and Universal Credit) percentage of population 16-64 year olds at March	3.6% (2023)	3.8% (2023)
New business registration rate per 10,000 people over 16	47.5 (2022)	64.6 (2022)
New houses built, total completed / total affordable	1,606 / 359 (2021/22)	-
Average Attainment 8 score per pupil state funded secondary schools	43.6	46.3
Average Progress 8 score for state funded secondary schools	-0.19	-0.03
Percentage of pupils who achieved a 9-5 pass in English and maths GCSEs	41.0%	45.3
Average point score (APS) per entry for level A levels (age 16-18)	32.34	34.05
Attainment of A level students (age 16-18) average point score (APS) per entry, best 3	31.14	34.55
Attainment of A level students (age 16-18) % achieving grades AAB or better at A level, of which at least two are in facilitating subjects	8.6%	15.6%

Keeping vulnerable people safe

2022/23
Measure	East Sussex	England
Rate per 10,000 (aged 0 –17 population) of Looked After Children	61	70
Rate per 10,000 (aged 0-17 population) of children with a Child Protection Plan	50.1	42.1
Percentage of children who ceased to be looked after adopted during the year ending 31 March	8%	10%
Percentage of people (65 and over) who were still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital	91.2%	82.3%
Suicide rate per 100,000 of population three-year average	12.1 (2019 - 2021)	10.4 (2019 - 2021)
Hospital admissions caused by unintentional and deliberate injuries in children aged 0-14 years, rate per 10,000 resident population	107.6	84.3

Helping people help themselves

2022/23
Measure	East Sussex	England
Percentage of children aged 4-5 years with excess weight (overweight or obese), by postcode of child	22.1%	21.3%
Percentage of children aged 10-11 years with excess weight (overweight or obese) by postcode of child	32.6%	36.6%
Percentage of adults (aged 18+) classified as overweight or obese	62.7% (2021/22)	63.8% (2021/22)
Long-term support needs of younger adults (aged 18-64) met by admission to residential and nursing care homes, per 100,000 population per year	13.9	14.6
Long-term support needs of older adults (aged 65 and over) met by admission to residential and nursing care homes, per 100,000 population per year	488.2	560.8
Proportion of older people aged 65 and over who received reablement services following discharge from hospital	1.4%	2.9%
The outcome of short-term services: sequel to service: proportion of people who received short-term services during the year, where no further request was made for ongoing support or support of a lower level	94.7%	77.5%
Emergency hospital admissions due to falls in people aged 65 and over per 100,000	2,523 (2021/22)	2,100 (2021/22)
Number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads	399 (calendar year 2022)	-