First of all tonytiddler, welcome to the site - i'm sure you'll be happy here.
Secondly, don't worry if your not catching much - i'm sure you know that even the best anglers in the world have their good days and bad days - it'll get better!
Finnaly, yes, you can use dead-bait. The best dead-baits for sea fishing are other oily fish that you can use from last catches or buy in a bait shop. The best types of dead-bait to use are mackerel, herring, bluey and sardine. These can be on the hook as a whole or chopped up in fillets.
If you don't mind dead sand-eel or sand-lance, they can also be usefull.

On the other hand if you still don't want to use dead things, you can also use the following:
Bread flakes (good for catching sea bream).
Boilies (the HP bait, see above).
Lures (wobblers, spoons, tails, wedges, blinkers etc. etc.).
Sea-mince.
Saltwater flies.
Raisens.
Fruit.
Pellets.
Sweetcorn.
Hemp seeds.
Groundbait (see the ground-bait section above).
Pasta.
or Luncheon Meat (sausage meat is also effective).

I hope this helps and the best of luck!
Tight Lines!