Agenda and minutes
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 14 November 2018. Minutes: The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 14 November 2018 were held as a correct record. |
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Items of Urgent Business PDF 87 KB 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: The Leader began by stating
that one urgent item had been received and asked Councillor Halden
to introduce the report. Councillor Halden stated that this item
was regarding the Schools Funding Formula 2019-2020 and had gone
through the Children’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee before
coming to Cabinet. He added that this was classed as an urgent item
because it had not appeared on the Forward Plan and the outcome of
the report had to go to the Secretary of State by 21 January 2019.
He commented that the report addressed the problem of underfunding
in local schools, and Thurrock would gain a net £1.3billion
through the National Funding Formula which they could choose where
to allocate. He described how the problem of underfunding was
historic, with schools such as the Ockendon Academy being
underfunded for decades, but now they could increase their finances
by six figures. Councillor Halden then commented that the report
also addressed the problem of overfunding areas such as the high
needs block, as they had inherited funding which was not linked to
demand. He continued by stating that with the new formula Looked
After Children funding would be replaced with a Pupil Place
Premium, but each child would receive an additional £400
top-up. Councillor Halden then drew the Committee’s attention
to the work that had been undertaken in schools in the past 2.5
years including the new inclusion units that had been built; the
new fair access panel; and the new money granted for mental health
provision in schools. He clarified that four formula options had
been taken to the Schools Forum, of which they had chosen Option C
which used a transition period in 2019-2020, and then followed the
national schools funding formula set out in Option A in 2020-2021.
He then thanked Councillor Hebb for the budget surplus which would
support the pressure on the Dedicated Schools Grant High Needs
Block. |
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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 by thanking
people who had contributed to the Give a Gift campaign currently
running at intu Lakeside, and stated
that each star on the Christmas tree represented a corporate child
that was looked after by Thurrock Council. He stated that so far
2,300 presents had been received, which meant every corporate child
could receive a gift from their social worker. He thanked local
residents, businesses and volunteers for running the unit and
donating, and mentioned that the Cabinet would also be volunteering
after the meeting to help wrap the presents. |
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Briefings on Policy, Budget and Other Issues Minutes: There were no briefings on policy, budget or 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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Lower Thames Crossing Update PDF 84 KB Minutes: Councillor Gledhill began by
thanking Councillor Smith for all his hard work on the Lower Thames
Crossing Task Force and stated he could not attend Cabinet as it
was his birthday. He explained that the extraordinary meeting of
Full Council on 11 December 2018 had unanimously decided to take
Highways England to judicial review, and the business and residents
representatives had also made their cases. He stated that the draft
consultation response had gone to the LTC Task Force and had been
agreed by Full Council at their extraordinary meeting. He added
that all Thurrock Councillors opposed the scheme and this was
supported by individual Councillors across Essex and Kent. He felt
that more work needed to be done to prevent the crossing, but if
this could not be achieved then it needed to meet the
resident’s needs in Thurrock. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Halden introduced
the report and stated he felt a lot of hard work had gone into its
creation. He described how one in ten young people suffered from a
mental health issue and how many of these ended up in the adult
social care system which had a significant impact on their lives
and money spent on their wellbeing. He discussed that a young
people’s survey had been commissioned which had received over
1000 responses, and a mental health summit had also been held. He
stated that the outcome from these had been that too much emphasis
had been placed on crisis clinical intervention, and although this
was important there were other aspects to mental health, and these
could be tackled by looking at the causes of mental health issues
such as bullying. Councillor Halden then discussed the need for
additional resources and team members as he felt the current wait
time of 12 weeks was too long, and this should be reduced to 4
weeks. He described how the new team would have 6.5 practitioners
that would work to create an improved mental health system in
schools. He commented that as this was non-statutory work it could
only be achieved because the budget was in surplus, and described
how the scheme would be paid for as detailed in the report. He
finally thanked officers, Public Health and the Osborne Trust for
all their help in preparing the scheme. |
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Children's Transport Re-Procurement of Service (Decision 110489) PDF 81 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Halden introduced
the report and stated this had come to Cabinet because of the value
of the contract. He then stated that funding would not be withdrawn
for in-year school transport that had already been granted, but
that too often the Council was relying on ad-hoc taxis under the
exceptional circumstances category. He added that this report would
better manage approved routes as the Council would no longer have
to spot purchase taxis. He finally thanked Ensign Bus for all their
work on the routes, particularly in areas such as Aveley. |
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Review of Outsourced Service Provision (Decision 110490) PDF 151 KB Minutes: Councillor Hebb began by
stating this report had been commissioned by Councillor Aker
following a motion at Full Council. He congratulated the hard work
put into the report by Sharon Bayliss and Stef Seff as the report
was very clear and clinical. He added this report built on previous
work about what services were delivered by which providers, as well
as the ongoing Council Spending Review. He stated that 84% of
services were delivered either by the Local Authority or volunteers
based in Thurrock, but even the multi-national companies that were
awarded contracts had employees who lived in the borough, which
served the local economy. Councillor Hebb added that the Council
tried to ensure that each tender had a local bid, and the Council
also ran a workshop for local businesses on how to put together a
successful procurement bid. He summarised by stating this was an
ongoing piece of work, that the Council would revisit when the
market or demand levels changed. |
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Quarter 2 Financial Position (Decision 110491) PDF 213 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Hebb began by
stating that the current long-term economic plan had been in place
for seven years and this had secured many services for residents.
He commented that the budget would now be in surplus for the next
2.5 years, so if a child was born in May 2016 they would be in
early-years before there were financial changes. He mentioned the
Council Spending Review which set out the Council’s
self-sufficiency objectives and therefore gave elected Members a
genuine choice. He then thanked officers at all levels for their
hard work every year in increasing the budget surplus. Councillor
Hebb then highlighted areas of the council which were experiencing
financial pressures such as housing. He stated this was because of
the focus on the Housing General Fund and the problem of
homelessness in the borough which had to be tackled. He also drew
the Cabinet’s attention the ongoing pressure on
Children’s Social Care which was due to the number of new
cases which had significant costing implications. He also mentioned
Environment and Highways which experienced pressure, but stated
this was a nationwide issue and not solely Thurrock’s. He
commented that new bin tags had now been launched which were
important as it helped residents identify which waste can be
recycled and therefore lowered processing costs at the recycling
plants. He added that Thurrock was one of the only boroughs that
still had weekly bin collections on all of its bins, and added this
could only continue if the right rubbish was put in the right bins.
Councillor Hebb then mentioned the pressures on public health as
this was caused by the migration from the CCG to the Council. |
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Mid-Year/Quarter 2 Corporate Performance Report 2018/19 PDF 141 KB Minutes: Councillor Huelin began by
stating that 71% of services were on target, which was a record
high, and the number of on-target services continues to increase.
She felt that the Council were proactive in helping to meet targets
such as the number of volunteers, which she had highlighted at the
last Cabinet meeting and was now on-target. She added this report
had gone to Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee in November
and wanted to thank them for their hard work and due diligence to
provide good governance. The Leader commented that under the last
administration the figure of on-target services was often less than
50%, even with the amber target rating, and felt it was much better
to see 71% with the new red and green only ratings. |
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Grays South Regeneration: Civic Offices Update (Decision 110492) PDF 96 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Coxshall introduced
the report by stating that this project had first been started
under the previous administration and was part of the Grays Masterplan to make Grays the civic capital of Thurrock. He added it
would provide a better area for weddings and a more private area
for those that were homeless. He added that Thurrock’s goal
was to build 10% better than London, and although this entailed a
slight cost increase, it would make the building more economical in
the long run. He added that as this project had been started 3-4
years ago, it was difficult to estimate cost, but that this report
had designed for issues. He felt this would be a building which
could last for a minimum of 20-30 years, and would place the
Council entrance on the right side of the High Street now SEC
College had opened, and could give a nice view over the Church. He
mentioned that this new design would also allow for 120 new homes
to be built on the site of CO1 which would be vital for the
regeneration of Grays. The Leader added
that this would also improve customer facing services and give a
better customer experience, such as improved waiting area for those
that had recently been made homeless. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Huelin began by
stating that under the Labour administration libraries had had
their budgets cut by over £500,000, which was two thirds of
their original budgets. She elaborated that this was the first
strategy in twenty years and reassured residents that libraries
would not be closing, but would be evolving. She stated that 89% of
residents wanted their libraries to become community hubs, such as
the one in Ockendon, and could include
services such as hearing tests or volunteer hubs, as well as
hosting the usual craft and activities groups. She commented that
the Aveley community hub would be reopening, as well as the East
Tilbury hub. The Leader added that libraries were not just about
renting books anymore, but had an increased range of
services. |
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Acquisition of Employment Land Use (Decision 110494) PDF 90 KB Minutes: The Leader began by stating
there were exempt appendices attached to the report, and if these
had to be discussed they would need to enter exempt session and ask
members of the public and press to leave. Councillor Coxshall
stated that this report formed part of the regeneration plans and
the land lift and shift policy. He commented that the site had been
offered to the Council which would increase the Council’s
portfolio and income received. He added that as communities had
built up, industrial sites had become stranded in the middle of
residential areas, such as in Purfleet,
Stanford-le-Hope, and the Globe Estate in Grays. The Leader clarified that the Globe Works
had been situated there since the 1500 and 1600s, but that 90% of
Thurrock Rectory was now urban and residential, with the Globe
Industrial Estate in the middle. He stated he felt glad to see an
increase in income, and felt this could better deliver other
services across the borough. |
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Acquisition of Employment Land Use - Appendix A (Decision 110494) |