THURROCK Council currently has 200 job vacancies within the authority - most of which have been frozen and will not be filled as the council attempts to cope with a proposed budget deficit of £19.3m in the next financial year - and more than £33 million over a three year period.

The council says the root cause of the problem is the financial impact of coronavirus and says the position continues to be assessed and remains subject to significant uncertainty.

Next Wednesday's (14 October) Cabinet meeting will hear a report from Cllr Shane Hebb, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation, which will detail the shortfalls and some of the measures the council will be taking.

This includes spending a considerable amount of the council's reserve funding to fill some of the gaps.

And the impact on jobs will be significant with the report saying: "This will impact on the ability to provide services, support capital projects and performance targets within affected areas whilst adding further pressure on remaining officers in all services."

You can read Cllr Hebb's full report here.