East Sussex County Council faces £90m cuts by 2019

A report said finding £90m savings would affect front-line services

Up to £90m in savings will have to be made by East Sussex County Council in the next three years, a report to the authority's cabinet has said.

Members will be asked to agree to the development of a business and financial plan up to 2019, on Monday.

The report said the council had a net budget of about £350m next year.

But, it said the savings would be "a new scale of challenge" that could not be met without direct impact on front-line services.

Under "next steps", the report said "areas of search for savings" were in adult social care, children's services, the capital programme, communications, commissioning of community-based services such as libraries and children's centres, corporate financing arrangements, and highways contracts.

The Conservative-run council said it had already made deep efficiency savings, including a 25% reduction in senior management.

Councillor David Elkin, deputy leader and lead member for resources, said some services would change or be reduced and others would stop altogether.

He said: "We'll look for imaginative ways of working with communities and partners if they have ideas for doing things differently - but the truth is that services in East Sussex will look very different at the end of this process."

Cabinet members have been asked to agree that chief officers will develop plans over the summer and provide detailed proposals in October.

The Conservatives have minority control of the council with 20 of the 49 seats. The Liberal Democrats are the next biggest party with 10 seats.