A SENIOR Thurrock Council leader has been reflecting on the way staff within the authority have been coping with the demands of coronvirus and praised them and volunteers for their work to help people across the borough.

Cllr Deb Huelin is the council's portfolio holder for central services and communities and at last week's full council meeting, she spoke of the 'significant achievements across core services and the dedication of council workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic' in a report to members.

Cllr Huelin said: "I have never been more proud of my portfolio teams as I have been over the past few months. Thurrock Coronavirus Community Action (TCCA), a partnership led by Thurrock Council with Stronger Together Thurrock and Thurrock CVS, was set up immediately to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak and has been a tremendous success.

"It has seen our volunteers deliver nearly 600 essential food boxes across the borough and support more than 3,370 residents in accessing food shopping, prescriptions and key resources throughout the pandemic.

"Our services have been required to adapt across the board since March 2020. Whether that is our IT services enabling the whole organisation to work agilely within only a few days, our HR teams producing all new guidance and policies to support and protect our workforce, or our library staff being redeployed to support the work of the TCCA – there have been so many fascinating examples of hard work beyond anything I've seen before.

"Customer Services are continuing to support residents over the phone, which includes helping them with online services as needed. A number of our libraries have now reopened safely with social distancing measures in place.

"Our work through communications continues to keep residents informed of the latest changes to government guidelines, and we are striving to keep all those who live and work in the borough as safe as possible during these challenging times.

"This was all whilst continuing to do what Thurrock does best and that is going 'above and beyond' in how it delivers it's every day services. This year has been an extraordinary time for us all, however this report has reminded me, as has the COVID-19 response, that we sometimes ask a lot of our officers – more than any job description could ever reasonably expect - and they, time and time again, deliver."

Cllr Huelin also spoke up earlier this year to identify the great work carried out by volunteers in the borough.