"Do-it-yourself" plans could see community groups step in to provide council services

The authority has announced it is spending more than £200,000 looking into whether residents can provide services better than it can.

However there are fears the scheme could leave people paying the council for a service and then providing it themselves.

It has been suggested the initiative might see groups such as Weight Watchers providing anti-obesity services on behalf of the council, for instance.

Anne Brown, county councillor responsible for corporate, communities and customers, said: "This funding aims to help communities become better at supporting themselves, instead of having to rely on public services.

“We want to harness the individual talents and capabilities of residents, and in doing so help support community initiatives.

"The money may be used for activities ranging from small grants for local projects designed to prevent illness or disease through encouraging healthy, active lifestyles through to support for volunteers caring for people with dementia.

“The funding would pay a small team to help set up and support these projects.

"In the long-term, the aim is for the projects to become entirely community-run and self-supporting, saving taxpayers’ money for years to come.”

Janet Willard, 49, runs two Weight Watchers groups in South Benfleet and Shoebury.

She said: “We do run referral services at the moment and we will direct people to other services that these people need after we have worked with them.

“I think Weight Watchers could take on other services that are relevant to the weight programs that we run.

"We are always looking for new and fresh ideas and head office may be very interested in new things to add to service that we run, but of course I am not able to comment on their behalf.”

John McKay, who runs the Lee Chapel North food bank, in Basildon, believes the initiative could have a positive impact.

He added: “I don’t think that the food bank will change, but this may help us to reach out to more isolated people as there may be more people on board helping with our work.”

Of the £216,000 budgeted about £134,000 will be spent on staffing the project and the rest on support.

A report from County Hall stated: "This is an innovative way of working not just for Essex County Council but also for the wider local government environment."

It is not yet known how much any successful projects could save and whether there will be a reduction in council tax for those providing services.

However in the past the council has tried to avoid any council tax reductions for volunteers.

There will not be any immediate job losses but if services are provided by others cuts could follow.

The report states: "Implementation of new approaches may impact existing employees but that will be subject to one or more separate future decisions."