How East Sussex County Council works
East Sussex County Council is a no overall control council, with a Conservative minority administration.
The residents of East Sussex elect 50 councillors (also known as members). The people who stand for election as councillors may belong to:
- one of the national political parties
- a local political party
- be completely independent of a political party
The last full County Council elections took place on 6 May 2021. There were two by-elections held on the 27 July, and 3 August 2023. The current political make-up of East Sussex County Council is:
- 25 Conservative
- 12 Liberal Democrats
- 5 Labour
- 5 Green
- 2 Independent Democrats
- 1 Independent
Councillors make 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 carried out.
The full Council of 50 councillors is responsible for agreeing the main policies and priorities for all services, including the Council’s budget. They meet 6 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
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. 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 chief officers.
The 5 East Sussex County Council departments and their main responsibilities are:
- Adult Social Care and Health
Provide social care services for residents over 16, including residential care and sensory care services. It also has the public health remit. - Governance Services
Provides advice on governance of the Council, including legal and constitutional arrangements. - Children’s Services
Provide social care for people under 16, state education and other childcare services. - Business Services
Responsible for managing our finances, IT, human resources, procurement and property. - Communities, Economy and Transport
Responsible for community services such as libraries and registrars, customer access and services, roads, transport planning, economy and the East Sussex environment.
Both councillors and officers work together to supply these services for East Sussex.