In his latest newsletter to local residents in his Maresfield and Buxted ESCC Division, Cllr Roy Galley has outlined the likely effects of Labour's Budget on East Sussex County Council's finances for the coming year.
At County level, we are still assessing the impact of the Rachel Reeves Budget on communities in East Sussex.
There is still some uncertainty but a picture is emerging.
The Budget included an extra £600 million for Social Care and an unallocated £700 million for local government which will be distributed as part of the Local Government Settlement in December. There is some extra money for potholes but no more than we received recently from the previous government.
The anticipation is that this will mean an extra £13million whilst the gap in East Sussex given rising demand for social care and Children’s services is about £57million.
Whatever increase there is, we have to factor in the impact of national insurance increases and the rise in the minimum wage up 6.7% for adults 16% for 18- to 24-year-olds. National insurance costs for the county will apparently be funded by the government but this will not apply to our contractors and service providers. Unless there is a change of heart these increases will have a big impact on care homes, not only those for the elderly but those used to house young adults and children with multiple needs.
There are further pots of money available for specific projects such as Active Travel, buses and improved recycling.
However, the key problem in East Sussex is the rising demand for social care across all age ranges.
Other impacts in East Sussex will include the threat to our farms from the removal of Inheritance Tax reliefs. We have many family agricultural businesses and our local economy could be badly effected in the long term.
We also have many excellent independent schools where parents will now face 20 %Vat on their fees. Whether they will all survive and whether state schools will have the capacity to take additional children remains to be seen.
Interestingly, the Green Party favours not only the VAT charge but the removal of charitable status which would be another blow if they ever came near to power.
