The West Sussex Council cabinet met to discuss local government reorganisation and the council's performance and resources. The cabinet voted to support a proposal for a single unitary council for West Sussex and approved the Quarter 1 Performance and Resources Report, including changes to key performance indicators and the allocation of £0.555m to cover a shortfall in budgeted pay awards.

Local Government Reorganisation

The cabinet voted in favour of submitting option A as the council's preferred solution for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in West Sussex. Option A proposes a single unitary council covering the entirety of West Sussex. This decision authorises the Leader of the Council to communicate this preference to the government, with the Chief Executive given the authority to make final adjustments to the supporting statement.

The council had been formally invited by the government to submit a proposal for LGR, with a deadline of 26 September 2025. All West Sussex councils submitted a joint interim plan in March 2025, outlining options for LGR in the county without expressing a preference at that time.

The council assessed the options against six criteria set out by the government:

• Establishment of a single tier of local government
• Appropriate size for efficiencies and capacity
• Prioritisation of high-quality public services
• Evidence of councils working together and considering local views
• Support for devolution arrangements
• Enable stronger community engagement

The report noted that the business case showed two viable options for LGR in West Sussex, but that option A would deliver double the savings of option B, with a shorter payback period. It also noted the risk of disruption to vital social care services if they were disaggregated under option B.

The cabinet also agreed to request the Minister to consider deferring the county council elections scheduled for May 2026, citing the cost of multiple elections in close proximity and potential confusion for residents.

Performance and Resources Report

The cabinet approved the Quarter 1 Performance and Resources Report (PRR) for 2025/26, which details the council’s position on revenue and capital spending, budget planning, workforce, performance, and risk management. They also agreed to proposed changes to KPI measures and the allocation of £0.555m from the Contingency Budget to service portfolio budgets to fund a 0.2% shortfall in the 2025/26 budgeted pay award.

The report highlighted financial challenges, particularly in adult and children's social care, with a forecast overspend of £17.6m, representing 2.1% of the overall budget. Despite holding a £9.8m Contingency Budget, it has not been allocated due to service risks and uncertainties.

Key financial risks, issues and challenges include:

• Growing demand and complexity of need in adult and children's social care
• Increases in the cost and cohort of adult lifelong services provision
• Pending cases in adult social care financial assessments and data processing
• Contractor cost pressures following National Living Wage and National Insurance rises
• The growing need for and the cost of external placements for children
• The rising numbers of children requiring high needs education
• Rising demand and the cost of Home to School Transport provision
• Loss of Service Level Agreement (SLA) income due to school academisation
• Volatility of waste volumes and recyclate rates
• Resolution of legal dispute on minerals extraction site
• Rising cost of reactive maintenance
• Highways Maintenance demand
• Delays in achieving savings

The report also noted that the balance on the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Reserve at the beginning of the 2025/26 financial year stood at a deficit of £123.2m, and is forecast to increase to £193.2m by the end of the financial year.

The Performance and Resources Report Q1 202526 included a summary of performance against the council plan.

Table 1 – Q1 Performance Summary Compared To Year-End Forecast

The report also included details of progress against savings targets.