Residents in the Thurrock Borough of Essex have been feeling the effects of the area’s local council’s financial deficits over the past year as budget cuts have caused changes to local services in the area. Thurrock Council confirmed that it had a £469m deficit which is one of the largest for a local authority, with fears circulating it may go bankrupt if cuts are made to essential services. The council has issued a notice under section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, effectively declaring bankruptcy.
Changes brought by the council in response to its financial woes have impacted residents in various ways, with minor issues such as neglected garden verges to larger ones such as the discontinuing of vital support such as adult social care.
Stanford-le-Hope resident Leonie Vince spoke of her sister’s difficulties as the council has stopped paying for her day care centre provision, saying that her sister’s whole world was turned upside down when their mother died suddenly and stressing that the council was not providing the services she desperately needs.
Robert Groves, another Thurrock resident, believes that the council’s days are numbered and it will eventually be abolished. “We’ve only been a unitary since the 1990s and we haven’t done a very good job”, he says. Council leader Andrew Jefferies has insisted that the proposed changes are in line with other local authorities, and residents are welcome to contact him if they disagree.
The council has since drawn up proposals for £18m of savings and plans to move to a fortnightly waste collection and charge residents for garden waste collections. However, residents argue that the proposed changes will bear the greatest impact on those on low incomes and the users of social care services, as budgets for activities such as these have been cut
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More