Huw Oxburgh, BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporter Service
Rebecca Maer, Eastbourne Reporter
Major adult social care cuts are to be debated further after councillors agreed to call in decisions taken by county council leaders last month.
On Monday (March 17), East Sussex County Council’s People Scrutiny Committee considered two call-in requests.
One was for the proposed closure of Linden Court, a day service for people with learning disabilities in Eastbourne, and the other for a housing support service.
The measures were among 11 savings proposals agreed by the council’s cabinet last month, expected to collectively cut £3.994 million from the adult social care budget for 2025/26.
A call-in request is a key element of scrutiny, allowing decisions to be subjected to further examination.
Both proposals will be put to full council for further debate. Councillors may decide to either take no further action or refer the measures back to cabinet for a final decision.
Sophie Ticehurst, whose severely autistic brother Jack, 25, uses Linden Court, told the Eastbourne Reporter she welcomed the outcome but added there was still a long way to go to save the service.
Many families who rely on Linden Court have said they fear their loved ones may have to go into residential care prematurely if the day centre closes.
The council has said the decision to close Linden Court and transport clients to Beeching Park in Bexhill would result in full-year savings of £327,000.
Sophie said: “We have put a really good case together with evidence to prove what we are saying: if three clients go into full-time residential care as a result of closure, it would be more than the claimed savings. The council’s alleged savings do not add up.
“The costs of transport alone [to Beeching Park in Bexhill] would probably outweigh the savings, along with additional support needed.
“I felt really emotional: we got the outcome we wanted but we have another long battle. We haven’t got the result we want yet.”
The council has offered a satellite service comprising two days a week in Eastbourne for 15 clients. However, 44 clients use Linden Court five days a week.
The request to call-in the decision was tabled by four members of the People Scrutiny Committee — Cllr Anne Cross (Green), Cllr Kathryn Field (Lib Dem), Cllr Carolyn Lambert (Lib Dem) and Cllr Trevor Webb (Lab).
The four councillors argued that the council had not fully considered the impact the decision would have on districts and borough councils, given the work towards local government reorganisation.
Similar reasons were given for calling in the decision to reduce funding for the Housing-Related Floating Support Service.
The service, which the county council commissions from BHT Sussex, provides short-term direct support to East Sussex residents who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
As a result of the cabinet’s decision, the service’s funding is likely to be reduced from £4.3 million per year to £500,000 per year from October 2025. The decision is expected to result in a half-year saving of just under £1.94 million, which would fall within the authority’s 2025/26 budget.
This call-in request was backed by five members of the People Scrutiny Committee — the four members behind the Linden Court request plus Independent Democrat leader Stephen Shing.
During debate, the councillors argued the funding cut could result in the loss of the service and result in additional costs of around £9.9 million for the county’s district and borough councils.
But Mark Stainton, the county council’s director of adult social care and health, cast some doubt on these figures, saying it was based on the premise that everyone who used the service in a year would then require temporary accommodation.
Ultimately the committee agreed to both motions, with the decisions to undergo full council debate as a result.
