ESSEX is well placed to deal with Government cuts, according to the man in charge of the county’s finances.

But David Finch, councillor responsible for finance and transformation at Essex County Council, conceded County Hall will have to change the way it works.

Buildings will be sold, jobs lost, positions left vacant, and services trimmed and shared with other authorities.

Mr Finch said there is no need to panic because the comprehensive spending review had been planned for.

The authority has been making savings for more than two years.

Mr Finch said: “We have been working on the transformation programme, saving £60million last year, and we are in line for £90million of savings this year.

“What has been announced so far is broadly in line with our assumptions, but the devil is in the detail.”

For the next month, he and his colleagues will be examining the details before confirming exactly what the spending cuts will mean for residents.

His biggest concern is what the impact will be if the Government takes more off specific grants.

He said: “Essex is in a good place relative to other authorities, and we will be protecting our priority services, such as adults, health and community wellbeing and vulnerable children.”

Mr Finch is hoping redundancies can be kept to a minimum and staff cuts can be controlled with natural wastage as contracts finish and people leave.

He said: “We naturally get people retiring and moving on, have specific contractors working and temporary staff, so there is always a turnover.

“The position for staff in general, as I see it, is there is not any major issue at Essex County Council.”

But Mr Finch did not want to give any guarantees about future plans. He said: “We need to understand the details to have a clear indication, but at the moment it does not look too bad.”

One area where the public can expect to see changes is closer working with other authorities.

Shared services can mean costs are cut, and jobs lost, but the same level of services is maintained and Mr Finch said discussions are taking place between councils about potential savings.

He said: “District and county councils have an increased appetite for collaborative work and there are moves to link up.”

The council will also continue its plan to sell property and land, and look at joint premises with councils across Essex.

Mr Finch said: “Derrick Lewis [councillor responsible for major projects and commercial services] is putting together a strategy, but we are not rushing out to sell and will only do so at the right price for the benefit of taxpayers in Essex.”

One difficulty the council is still facing is the £8.5million budget deficit this year.

While it has been reduced from nearly £20million, the council still needs to make cuts to achieve the level of zero insisted on by leader Peter Martin.

Mr Finch said: “If we do not manage zero, there will be good reasons why.”

He is confident he is the right man to see the council through the cuts. He added: “I take the responsibility for managing the finances of Essex County Council on behalf of its citizens very seriously indeed. I think about it as my own money, which I spend very carefully.”

Essex County Council is waiting to hear the value of its grant.