Essex budget proposals are "path out of the pandemic"
Essex County Council has announced its budget proposals for the coming year
According to Essex County Council, its budget proposals for the coming year will define the "path out of the pandemic".
The authority is proposing a 0% council tax increase, with a 1.5% rise this year from the Government's Adult Social Care Precept, which works out at an addition £19.80 per year for the average Band D property.
Leader of Essex County Council, Councillor David Finch, said: "This budget has been produced under the most testing circumstances that the Council and our communities have ever faced.
"We have had to make some incredibly tough decisions in the short term to reflect the need to protect our communities and economy in the long term.
"Our proposals set us on the road to recovery – Essex’s Path out of the Pandemic toward a brighter future. We have a strategy and an investment plan to improve the lives of our residents and begin to mitigate some of the impacts we have all felt in the last year.
"Over the last twelve months we have worked primarily on addressing the challenges of Covid. We will continue to do that over the next twelve months.
"There is no more fundamental responsibility for government than to save lives; and working with our partners and with central government we will do whatever it takes to protect you and your families from this dreadful virus."
The council says its proposals focus on "family, economy, and environment" and includes extra apprenticeships, more school places, helping the unemployed start businesses, increasing support for older people, and improving mental health services and support for people with learning disabilities.
A spending commitment of £1.34 billion over the next four years is also included, which will be spent on things like new schools and major road improvements.
Investments in the environment will also be made, including the planting of 50,000 trees, investing £2.5 million in flood defences, and receiving the first full report of the Essex Climate Commission.
Cllr Finch added: "The challenge of Covid has been layered on top of the already existing financial stress that public services have been under for a decade. But because we have focused on reducing bureaucracy and improving productivity - we have been consistently identified as one of the ten most efficient Councils in the country – we have been able to keep Council Tax increases to a minimum while providing excellent services."