Overview and Summary

West Sussex is a county of 769 square miles in the Southeast of England, bordered by Hampshire, Surrey, Brighton & Hove, and East Sussex. The county has a two-tier system of government, comprising West Sussex County Council (the council) and five district and two borough councils, these are respectively, Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, Mid Sussex, and Crawley and Worthing. It has a high concentration of coastal communities, as well as an extensive rural area, with over half of the land area being designated as protected countryside, including a large swathe of the South Downs National Park, which cuts across the county.

The county has a significant London commuter population, located in Mid Sussex and Horsham. As well as its large rural and coastal presence, the location of Gatwick International Airport within the county boundaries is a noticeable draw for people looking to reside and/or work in West Sussex.

From the latest population estimates the county’s population is around 892,400, an increase of 9.2% over the last 10 years. West Sussex has seen a higher percentage increase in total population than seen at a national (England) and regional level.  The largest increases in population have been in the older age groups, including a rise of 18% in the 65+ age group. The population aged 65 years and over make up 23% of the total population of the county, an increase from the 21% seen ten years previously, and is a larger proportion than seen nationally (18.6%). Arun has the highest proportion of 65 years+ at 29%, compared to Crawley, the lowest at 13.4%.  The population in West Sussex is projected to increase by a further 6.5% from 2018 to 2028 with larger increases projected in the 65+ age group (21%) and the 85+ age group (19%). 

Whilst the economy of West Sussex is seen as generally successful, productivity remains at lower than the national average with a lot of employment in lower value sectors. While skills levels are high in some areas they lag in others, and there are pockets of deprivation, particularly in the coastal areas and in Crawley with some areas ranking in the 10% most deprived areas in England.

Residents generally have a longer life expectancy when compared with England with a life expectancy for males at 80.3 years (England 78.9) and 84.2 years for females (England 82.8) (2020-22). However, this masks considerable inequality and differences between geographical areas and population groups. There are considerable differences between the life expectancy of the overall population and people with mental health needs and those with disabilities, including learning disabilities. Data in relation to mortality of people with severe mental illness shows they have an increased risk of dying prematurely than people without severe mental illness (400+%). National data estimates the average age of death for adults with a learning disability to be 62.7 years in 2022.

West Sussex has an adult population (aged 18 years and over) of 715,100 which makes up 80% of the total population, a slightly higher proportion than the national and regional average. The council’s Adults Services supports 1.2% of the adult population, of which the majority (59%) are older people. This number is forecast to increase by over five hundred in the next five years. Around 60 per cent of people needing care in a care home are able to fund the costs of their care themselves from savings, investments, benefits, pension and other income, these are known as self-funders.

Our Corporate Plan

Developed from the County Council’s reset plan in 2020/21, ‘Our Council Plan 2021-2025’ sets out the council’s priorities over the next four years and the outcomes we want to achieve for people who live and work in West Sussex. Our focus is on four priorities, which are:

• Keeping people safe from vulnerable situations
• A sustainable and prosperous economy
• Helping people and communities to fulfil their potential
• Making the best use of resources

These priorities are underpinned by a cross-cutting theme of protecting the environment.

Our Local Account

Our Local Account is published on an annual basis and reports on the performance of our adult social care services. This provides information on our successes, challenges, areas where improvements are underway and how well we have been performing against local and national priorities. The report includes an annual contribution from the Customer and Carer Group and the Chair of our Minorities Health and Social Care Group.

Our Budget and Performance

Our budget for adult social care in 2024/25 is approximately £263m, which has risen by 28% over the last five years and has enabled fee uplifts to be paid to providers which have recognised the impact of the National Living Wage. Around 95% of the budget relates to the cost of funding the social care needs of approximately 8,500 residents who meet the national eligibility criteria in the Care Act  (of a total of over 13,000 people receiving some form of support from the service). The council has also committed £8m of additional funding to deliver a programme of improvement within the adult social care directorate, which will build on the significant work to date.

The outturn position for 2023/24 resulted in an overspend of approximately £10m.  This was the first year since 2016/17 that the budget had overspent.  It represented a 4.1% variation and was driven primarily by demand growth and delays in delivery of savings. Much of this reflected the workforce and market-related factors which continue to make a demanding environment for all local authorities in the South East with adult social care responsibilities.

Those same pressures remain in 2024/25 where overspending of £12m is currently forecast.  This is not sustainable and reinforces the need for demand to be managed in line with the ambitions in our Adult Social Care Strategy.  Making those changes takes times and so is impacting the speed with which savings are being delivered, especially in relation to implementing a strengths-based approach to care.  Nevertheless, in that approach and the recent decision to seek a significant increase in reablement capacity there is clear indication of our direction of travel. 

Adults' Services performance is monitored through the council’s quarterly Performance and Resources Report, which is considered by the council's scrutiny committees and final oversight by the Cabinet. There are nine corporate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Adults' Services which help us to analyse and assess our performance in specific areas. Some of these measures are taken from the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF). Measures from the ASCOF 2022/23 enable us to better reflect our performance, identify where our gaps are and continue to focus our improvement. Overall satisfaction of people who use services with their care and support in West Sussex is 67.7%, against an England average of 64.4%.