Whitbread, whose cabinet title is ‘Chancellor of Essex’, said setting the budget had been “a challenge”. He said a total savings of £40m will be made from “changes in the ways we do things, things we have dialled down from doing”.
But opposition parties accused the Conservative council of a lack of detail.
Labour’s Ivan Henderson said: “When you see the impact assessment, it says at this stage they don’t know what the whole impact of those savings will be.
“To me, you don’t make £30m of savings to children’s services when you don’t know what the impact will be on the residents of Essex”.
Opposition Leader Liberal Democrat Mike Mackrory said: “Our concern would be: are those children getting the care and support they need from the council?”
The budget report details that £3.6m will be saved in children’s services from “best value procurement and negotiating better prices with external providers of residential placements” and £1.4m by placing children in care into a family setting through fostering.
Essex County Council supports 5,750 children and young people through social care and 16,500 adults.
A survey of 1,277 local people ahead of setting the budget found 50% of people want the county council to prioritise services for the majority rather than focusing on people with the greatest need.
