About The Council

West Sussex County Council forms the upper tier of local government within West Sussex, providing a wide range of services such as social care, education, planning, libraries, waste management and trading standards to residents in the county. There are seven districts and boroughs and 158 parish and town councils, providing a further range of services to both businesses and residents.

The County Council is made up of 70 elected members, and the administration is controlled by the Conservative group. The Council Leader is Councillor Paul Marshall. The current council composition is:

• Conservative: 41

• Liberal Democrat: 10

• Labour: 9

• Green and Independent Alliance Group: 5

• Reform UK: 4

• Independent: 1

Our vision for the county is that local communities are independent, strong and vibrant. We target our effort on those services that will make the biggest difference to communities, enabling them to help themselves in achieving their aspirations. We work with other organisations and join up our respective expertise to help achieve this. Where needed, the County Council will provide a helping hand to those residents who are at risk when they require it.

This bold ambition is captured in our Council Plan, which illustrates our clear focus on:

• 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.

All four of these priorities are underpinned by a deep commitment to a cross-cutting theme of tackling climate change.

We believe in collaborative working across the local government family, the wider public and private sectors. We believe in changing the lives of all our residents for the better by engaging with our residents and delivering outcomes which matter most to them.

As an organisation, we have a strong political commitment to improving residents’ lives. Despite the challenges which lie ahead for our organisation, we have plans to meet these challenge ‘head-on’ and this fuels our ambition to improve.

Our values were developed with our employees through employee engagement events, and are central to achieving our vision and corporate plan priorities. They demonstrate how we work and interact with customers, partners and colleagues on a day-to-day basis. They are:

• Customer-centred

• Listen and act upon

• Honest and realistic

• Trust and support

• Genuinely valued