ESSEX County Council is facing a £49million funding shortfall from central government.

The £49million drop is a cut of about 15 per cent on last year's budget and follows millions of pounds of cuts in recent years.

County Hall will now look to make further efficiency savings in an effort to balance the books.

John Spence, county councillor responsible for finance, said: "We understand the government has to tackle the deficit, but that does not detract from our responsibility both to balance the books and to provide the best possible service for the people of Essex.

“Every successive round of cuts makes the challenge harder. We have already secured so many efficiencies. We will continue to work creatively with our dedicated and innovative officers to find new solutions but make no mistake – it will be tough.”

County council leader, David Finch, added: “This is going to get tougher, but we are working closely with our partners across the county in order to deal with these funding reductions.

“Resilient communities are always important but especially at a time when councils simply cannot afford to do everything they used to do.”

Nationally about £2.6billion is being cut in council funding for 2015/16.

The cuts were highlighted by Nick Alston, the Essex Police and Crime Commissioner, in Thursday's Echo.

He said taxpayers could be forced to pay an extra £3 a year to help pay for policing as the force sees its budget slashed by £8.5million.

Despite asking for the increase from taxpayers, Mr Alston said the budget shortfall would mean there was a "further reduction" in the number of officers and staff working for Essex Police.