Three senior leaders are among the employees to be leaving Havering Council as part of its voluntary redundancy roll out.

The scheme was part of an attempt to claw back up to £7million in savings by removing 400 staff roles, as the council hoped to plug a £13m budget gap.

As well as the redundancy scheme, the removed roles would also include a reduction in agency staff and the cancelling of vacant posts.

In a council meeting earlier this year, an officer admitted it is a "sad reality" that the cuts will likely have an impact on services.

Now the council has confirmed that a total of 51 employees had taken up the offer of redundancy, of which three are senior leaders, meaning they are head of service or above.

Despite initial fears that compulsory redundancies may have also been required, the council said all 51 employees came forward on a voluntary basis.

A council spokesperson said: “The council will soon be consulting on its budget and this will look at further savings. If this includes staff changes then staff will be informed.

“We will make sure services are not affected.”