Kent County Council must be leaner, says financial report

Kent County Council needs to be leaner, according to a report on its finances

Kent County Council will have fewer staff and a severe squeeze on spending under plans contained in a new report.

KCC is set to impose a recruitment freeze of "non-essential" employees while altering working practices and workplace culture.

A paper called Securing Kent's Future - Budget Recovery Strategy will be discussed by the cabinet on Thursday.

The report calls for a "leaner" council without explicitly proposing staff cuts.

KCC looks set to balance the books for 2023/24, but £86m worth of efficiencies have to be found for the following year.

The authority's existing staff have been warned they cannot rely on casual or agency workers to fill gaps. The paper reveals these workers outnumber KCC staffers.

Recruitment to "essential" roles will stay in place to protect safety but at the discretion of senior service managers "balancing the immediate need for savings with the immediate service pressures which may be present".

The papers add: "Almost certainly, KCC will need to be a leaner organisation, prioritising staff capability over capacity."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].