Venue: Committee Rooms 2 & 3, Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 6SL. View directions
Contact: Lucy Tricker, Democratic Services Officer Email: Direct.Democracy@thurrock.gov.uk
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To approve as a correct record the minutes of Cabinet held on 16 January 2019. Minutes: The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 16 January 2019 were approved as a correct record. |
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Items of Urgent Business To receive additional items that the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972. Minutes: There were no items of urgent business. |
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Declaration of Interests Minutes: There were no interests declared. |
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Statements by the Leader Minutes: The Leader began his statement
by discussing anti-social behaviour across the borough, and stated
that since November 2018 there had been an 8.5% reduction in
reports of anti-social behaviour in Thurrock. He also stated that
there had been a 50% reduction in motorcycle nuisance, due to the
Council’s work with Essex Police. He continued by describing
how that the Anti-Social Behaviour Team had been carrying out high
visibility patrols, and how the CCTV scheme had been expanded to 30
locations around the borough. He added that 11 injunctions had been
brought against members of a local criminal gang, and urged all
residents to report crime through 101, Essex Police, or
Crimestoppers Anonymous, to help the
Council and police tackle crime. He stated that Thurrock Council
had given £1million to Essex Police to fund 6 extra officers,
in addition to the 3 officers from Essex Police announced at Full
Council, which were over and above the 15 officers coming to
Thurrock due to the Police, Fire and Crime Commission Council Tax
precept increase. He stated that the new officers would operate
from the council offices and would be dedicated to addressing the
Council’s Community Safety Partnership objectives. |
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Briefings on Policy, Budget and Other Issues Minutes: There were no briefings on policy, budget and other issues. |
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Petitions submitted by Members of the Public Minutes: No petitions had been submitted by members of the public. |
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Questions from Non-Executive Members Minutes: No questions had been received from non-Executive Members. |
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Matters Referred to the Cabinet for Consideration by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee Minutes: No matters had been referred to the Cabinet for consideration by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee. |
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Fees and Charges Pricing Strategy 2019-2020 (Decision 110501) PDF 231 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Hebb introduced the
report and began by stating that this report was due to commercial
objectives now being embedded in the Council, and described how there was now a new
commercial team which were ensuring that facilities such as the
Thameside Theatre and Grangewaters were
breaking even. He outlined the report and commented that the
strategy listed the council’s charges which was an
amalgamation of lots of work, and ensured the council did not run
at a loss and facilities became self-sufficient. He stated that the
detailed list of fees and charges were noted in the appendices and
added that overview and scrutiny committees had seen the report,
and had made no changes. |
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Capital Strategy 2019-2020 (Decision 110502) PDF 68 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Hebb introduced the
report and stated this was the new name for the Treasury Management
report, and the format had changed based on CIPFA guidance. He
stated that the council were now receiving £13.6million in
earnings from revenue and were self-sufficient. He added that
during the next municipal year the council would earn
£23.4million in earnings from revenue, which meant that only
1/5th of the Council’s revenue was received from
taxpayers. He then drew Member’s attention to 3.2.2 of the
report which outlined the costings format and highlighted that this
report was also to approve prudential indicators and the annual
minimum revenue position. |
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Minutes: Councillor Hebb introduced the
report by stating that he felt the council had a strong financial
outlook, as they were being proactive and using data analysis to
ensure the council had a balanced budget. He outlined the
recommendation that would be going to Full Council not to increase
council tax for the next municipal year, unlike 95% of other
councils, and stated that, if agreed, Cabinet would be recommending
a council tax freeze. He described how Thurrock were a £0.5billion council, and were in a good
positon as they did not need to increase council tax. He drew a
comparison between now and the 2003/4 budget when tax had to be
increased by 48%. He added that this council tax freeze was due to
Thurrock’s reform and would not be funded by top-down cuts,
or drawing on reserves. He added that the council had increased
their ‘rainy day fund’ by 38%. He then highlighted
children’s services which had decreased their overspend by reducing demand through growth,
having quicker response times, and increasing the level of care.
Councillor Hebb stated that he felt there was still more to do, but
Thurrock were now balancing the budget, which ensured that
services were protected. |
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Housing Revenue Account - Business Plan and Budgets 2019/20 Onwards (Decision 110504) PDF 174 KB Minutes: Councillor Johnson introduced
the report by saying this was a statutory requirement, as the
report confirmed the financial viability of the HRA and reviewed
the 30 year HRA business plan. He commented that the report ensured
residents safety in their homes as in 2018 8,500 homes were
refurbished, and this figure would increase to 9,000 by the end of
2019. He also mentioned that in 2019 a schedule of external works
on council properties would begin. He stated that the council had
been working closely with contractors to reduce the time taken to
complete repairs, and an independent survey had found that, of the
30,000 repairs undertaken, the majority of residents felt these had
been good. He stated that the council had also helped 500 residents
who were in financial difficulty, by offering advice and ensuring
they could avoid issues such as homelessness. He added that there
were now new CCTV monitoring cameras in place, and there had been a
10% reduction in complaints from 2017 to 2018, as well as reducing
void re-let time by 5 days. He commented that ground had been
broken for new council houses on the old Tops Club site in
Grays, and work would begin next month
in Claudian Way. He then discussed the
government abolishing the HRA borrowing cap, and the central
government policy of 1% reduction in rent per year, but added the
council would pursue opportunities to secure funding for new
council house building. |
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Re-Procurement of Temporary (Agency) Worker Contract (Decision 110505) PDF 100 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Collins outlined the
report and began by stating it would allow for the re-procurement
of the temporary agency worker contract, as the council currently
had a contract with Matrix SCM, but this would be coming to an end
in December 2019. He commented that this contract supplied agency
workers to the council, and had been working well over the past
three years. He added that the council were trying to reduce the
number of agency workers used, and across the 2018/19 financial
year to date have seen a consistent reduction in spend on agency
workers. He stated that the council did need to maintain a flexible
workforce, particularly in areas such as waste disposal, and
frontline care services. He felt that the contract type offered the
best value for the lowest risk as they were a managed service
provider who carried out pre-employment checks on all temporary
agency workers and committed to the council’s social values,
and sourced workers from within the borough. He summarised and
stated this was an opportunity for the council to review this
service. |
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Elizabeth Gardens Procurement for a Care and Support Contract (Decision 110506) PDF 75 KB Minutes: Councillor Halden introduced
the report, as Councillor Little had been unable to attend the
meeting, and stated this report was for the re-procurement for a
care and support contract of ‘extra care’ housing,
which fell between sheltered accommodation and residential care. He
stated that at Elizabeth Gardens there was 24 hour care on-site,
which catered for both older and infirm people, as well as younger
people with a diverse range of needs. He commented that the
contract was working well, and felt this report ensured elderly
people were supported in Thurrock. |
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Tree Planting Strategy PDF 76 KB Minutes: Councillor Watkins introduced
this report and thanked Councillor Redsell for her motion on this
matter at Full Council in July, and the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee. He stated that this report introduced new policies, such
as like-for-like tree replacement, and replacing trees in the same
location if possible. He added that this report ensured that trees
which had been removed in the past 3 years were replaced, which
equated to 66 new trees. He felt this strategy helped the wider
council ambition of the local plan, as it encouraged developers to
plant new trees.
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