As a long serving Independent EFDC councillor I always keep a watchful eye on the performance of EFDC and can often be very critical but during this pandemic I think very largely they have responded well:

• With staff being adaptable in their roles and working in new flexible ways

• The domestic waste collection has been successfully continued; other district councils in Essex had stopped their garden and recycling collections by the second week

• This week senior councillors were informed that EFDC was the best performing district council in Essex for distributing the Government small business grants to help our local businesses deal with this very difficult economic situation

I am sure that it is almost certain that EFDC haven’t pleased everyone in our district and there will be things they haven’t got absolutely right but by and large I think they have done their very best to maintain essential services and to adapt to new needs, new situations and new demands.

Councillor Stephen Murray

Loughton Roding Ward