How East Sussex County Council works
Council departments and responsibilities
The five East Sussex County Council departments and their main responsibilities are:
- Adult Social Services – provide social care services for residents over 16, including residential care and sensory care services.
- Governance and Community Services – responsible for trading standards, register offices, supporting economic regeneration and libraries.
- Children's Services – provide social care for people under 16, state education and other childcare services.
- Corporate Resources – responsible for managing the budget and auditing our finances
- Transport and Environment – responsible for maintaining roads, providing public transport and managing the local environment.
Both elected representatives (councillors) and paid employees (council officers) work together to supply these services for East Sussex.
Political leadership of the Council
We have 49 councillors (also known as members) who are elected by residents of East Sussex. The people who stand for election as councillors may belong to one of the national political parties or to a local political party, or they may be completely independent of a political party.
The last County Council elections took place on 5 June 2009. Depending on their area, voters in our 44 divisions elected one or two representatives to the council. Following the election in June 2009, the political make-up of East Sussex County Council is:
- 29 Conservative
- 13 Liberal Democrats
- 4 Labour
- 3 Independent
If more than half the people on a council belong to one political party, that party is referred to as the majority party.
What councillors do
Councillors are responsible for making sure that the services that the Council provides meet the needs of residents and those who work in the county.
They do this by setting the overall policies and strategies for the Council and by monitoring the way in which these are implemented.
The full Council of 49 councillors is responsible for agreeing the main policies and priorities for all services, including the Council's budget. They meet six times a year and meetings are open to the public. Visit our page about meetings of the full Council for more information.
You should talk to your councillor if:
- you want to influence the future development of the county
- you want to influence specific things going on in your area
- you have a problem that cannot be solved by officers.
Find your county councillor.
What Council officers do
Council officers are the people who work for the Council and who are paid to deliver the services agreed by councillors.
Chief officers help councillors to develop policies and objectives but their main role is to provide the public with the highest possible standards of service within the money that the Councillors make available.
Full details of individual roles of our seven chief officers.
