The local authorityCouncil · county · england · 1 of 21 councils (county)

East Sussex County Council.

Council with no overall control county. £603m net revenue. 108 wards across 7 parliamentary constituencies. Comprises 5 districts: Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother, Wealden.

Typecounty
Seats0 councillors · 108 wards
Net revenue · 2025-26
£603m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
/0
Westminster
7
constituencies overlap · 3 MP parties
Dispatch
8 Jun 2026

Council chamber, 3-party MP geography.

East Sussex County Council is a county with no overall control. Net revenue is £603m for 2025-26. It covers 108 wards spanning 7 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 3 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§Districts.5 districts · Band D £2,532–£2,627
DistrictBand D billCounty tax sourcedWards
Eastbourne£2,532.49£67.0m9
Hastings£2,554.14£50.2m16
Lewes£2,627.39£72.8m21
Rother£2,561.29£73.8m21
Wealden£2,608.44£129.2m41

Band D is the full household bill (county + district + police + fire + parish). “County tax sourced” is East Sussex County Council’s own precept (£1867.05/yr at Band D) collected through each district’s tax base — totalling £392.9m.

§ 01Composition.0 seats

Who sits in the chamber.

Councillors — the people.

Councillor data not yet ingested for East Sussex County Council.

§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

65%
Council tax
£392.9m · median 66%
28%
Central grants
£166.5m · median 27%
7%
Business rates
£43.4m · median 7%

Revenue mix is close to the councils (county) median: 65% council tax, 28% central grants.

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£1,867

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.10 buckets · vs 20 other councils (county)

How does East Sussex County Council split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (county)-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Adult Social Care35.9% of net spend · cohort median 31%
3 of 21+14% vs median
Education34.6% of net spend · cohort median 40%
21 of 21-14% vs median
Children's Services14.7% of net spend · cohort median 14%
5 of 21+7% vs median
Highways & Transport4.0% of net spend · cohort median 4%
11 of 210% vs median
Waste & Recycling3.8% of net spend · cohort median 3%
7 of 21+10% vs median
Public Health3.5% of net spend · cohort median 3%
7 of 21+4% vs median
Corporate & Central1.4% of net spend · cohort median 1%
12 of 21-2% vs median
Housing & Homelessness1.0% of net spend · cohort median 0%
1 of 18+320% vs median
Culture & Leisure0.8% of net spend · cohort median 1%
18 of 21-14% vs median
Planning & Economic Development0.3% of net spend · cohort median 0%
15 of 21-7% vs median
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.108 wards split across 7 parliamentary seats

East Sussex County Council’s territory crosses 7 Westminster constituencies, with 3 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Sussex Weald2321% Nusrat GhaniCon
Lewes2220% James MacClearyLD
Bexhill and Battle2019% Kieran MullanCon
Hastings and Rye1918% Helena DollimoreInd
East Grinstead and Uckfield1110% Mims DaviesCon
Eastbourne98% Josh BabarindeLD
Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven44% Chris WardLab
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 3 Con, 2 LD and 1 Lab MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a -controlled county — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.

Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 20 other councils (county)
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
Not yet ingested for East Sussex County Council
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level