The Mayor invited Reverend Canon Darren Barlow to lead those present in Prayer and a one minute’s silence was held as a mark of respect to reflect the recent passing away of former Councillor Ken Barrett.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Extraordinary meeting of the Council, held on 27 September 2017.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Council, held on 27 September 2017.

The Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of Council held on the 27 September 2017 were approved as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting of Council held on the 27 September 2017 were approved as a correct record. Councillor Duffin questioned why on Page 71 of Appendix A to the Council Minutes, Question 8, had the Members of the Public been attributed for the disruption rather than Members and asked whether this was an opportunity for the Conservative Members to apologise to the Public.

To receive additional items that the Mayor 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.

The Mayor informed the Chamber that he had not agreed to the consideration of any items of urgent business.

To receive any declaration of interests from Members.

Councillor C Kent declared a non-pecuniary interest with regard to Motion 1 as she worked in a school in Thurrock.

Councillor Cherry declared a non-pecuniary interest with regard to Motion 2 as he worked for the 101 Police Service.

The Mayor invited all those present to reflect on and remember Thurrock’s fallen of World War One.

The Mayor invited Members and members of the public to the “Best of Thurrock Variety Night” which would take place on the 16 November that promised to be a good display of the best of Thurrock.

The Mayor thanked the Thurrock artists for beautifying the Mayor’s parlour with their work which featured this month the work of Skylark Collective; he thanked the Well House Gallery for the display.

October had been universally marked as Black History Month, an occasion to mark the strength of community in diversity with 2017 marking 30 years of the United Kingdom celebrating the event. The Mayor attended the Black History Month reception at No 10 Downing Street and stated that it had been good to see the Prime Minister, Members of Parliament and Ministers mix with a wide variety of people representing the diversity of the United Kingdom.

Thurrock schools had celebrated the event with a memorable occasion at Thameside Library where parents, teachers and children from all backgrounds celebrated.  In a show of cooperation, six schools had worked together in conjunction with Learning Workz to mark the occasion. 

Councillor Bukky Okunade would like to invite Members to the “Ankara” event on Friday and for Members to contact her directly for tickets.

That the Thurrock Civic Awards 2018 was now open for nominations and the Mayor encouraged everyone to nominate someone who deserved to be recognised for the good that they did in the community and that nominations could be made online via the Council’s website until Monday 27 November with the winners being announced at the Awards Dinner in February.

The Mayor invited Councillor S Little to announce the launch of Give a Gift at Christmas. Councillor S Little stated that following the huge success last year the Give a Gift would run again this year starting on the 21 November until the 21 December and encouraged all Members, Officers and members of the public to donate some of their free time.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Gledhill, updated Members on the following:

Councillor Gledhill echoed the tribute made by Reverend Barlow to former Councillor Ken Barrett who had been an excellent Councillor, who had been extremely dedicated to helping residents and he would be sorely missed.

An update on Clean It, Cut It, Fill It showed that since April 2017, over 1000 tonnes of rubbish had been collected, 9200 acres of grass had been cut and 4100 potholes had been filled.

That the pilot of the Potholer Spotter had received an award at the Highways Awards for Best Use of New Technology and that Thurrock Council had been asked to speak at a national conference following Thurrock being recognised as the most improved local authority in highways maintenance by the National Highways and Transport Network.

Thurrock also received the Society for IT Professionals in the Public Sector 2017 Award for Citizen Engagement.

Lisa Holliday had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

In accordance with Chapter 2, Part 2 (Rule 14) of the Council’s Constitution.

A copy of the transcript of questions and answers can be viewed under the relevant meeting date at http://democracy.thurrock.gov.uk/thurrock and are attached at Appendix A at these minutes.

In accordance with Chapter 2, Part 2(Rule 14) of the Council’s Constitution.

The Mayor informed Members that in accordance with the Council’s petition scheme no notices of petitions had been received.

Members received a report on the status of those petitions handed in at Council Meetings and Council Offices over the past six months.

The Council are asked to agree any changes to the appointments made to committees and outside bodies, statutory and other panels, as requested by Group Leaders.

The Mayor enquired whether Group Leaders wished for any changes to be made to the appointments previously made to Committees and outside bodies, statutory and other panels.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Gledhill, informed the Chamber he had no further changes to make.

Councillor Snell, Leader of the UKIP Group, informed the Council Chamber he had no further changes to make.

Councillor Gerrish, Leader of the Labour Group, informed the Chamber that he wished to make the following changes:

For Councillor Fish to replace Councillor Stone on the Licensing Committee.

For Councillor Baldwin to replace Councillor Stone on the Cleaner, Greener and Safer Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED:

1.         That Councillor Fish be appointed as member of the Licensing Committee.

2.         That Councillor Baldwin be appointed as member of the Cleaner Greener and Safer Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Mayor informed the Chamber that a petition had been submitted to Full Council titled ‘King Street Car Park in Stanford Le Hope” and that as the petition had reached the threshold of 1,500 verified signatures, it had qualified to be debated by the Council.

Members were informed that the signatures had been checked and verified by Democratic Services using the electoral register.

The Mayor invited Councillor Piccolo, the Lead Petitioner to speak on the petition.

Councillor Piccolo stated that the limited free parking had a detrimental effect on shops in Stanford Le Hope in comparison to the 450 free parking spaces available in Corringham. That with modern day living people used cars to go shopping and that the air quality and pollution levels had increased with cars sitting idling waiting for a space. That this was the time for Thurrock Council to put right for the future because if the lack of parking in Stanford Le Hope was not sorted it will shortly not be open for business.

Councillor Piccolo suggested 3 options:

-           Owners of the car park charge commuters in exchange for some free car parking spaces

-           Clean the car park in exchange for some free car parking spaces

-           Make a compulsory purchase order

Councillor Piccolo urged all Members to support to reinstate free parking back into Stanford Le Hope.

Councillor Jones stated his full support with the report as parking in Stanford Le Hope had been a bone of contention with residents and that the current owners had not acted appropriately.

Councillor Gerrish thanked residents and the ward Councillors for the petition and the good work undertaken. That all Members should stand united to bring effective benefits to the residents and shops in Stanford Le Hope. Councillor Gerrish asked for continued updates on this petition through the Petitions Update Report.

Councillor Hebb stated that the plans were flawed from the beginning and had pushed shoppers away from Stanford Le Hope. That the Council had tried to have discussions with the current owner but the Council now had to move forward and bring shoppers back to Stanford Le Hope. Councillor Hebb suggested 3 options:

-           Shopper Scheme – spend so much in a shop and get your parking paid for

-           Launch a review of single yellow lines

-           Apply for a local land charge

Councillor Hebb stated that this decision had to be a cross party one that would ensure Stanford Le Hope become a restored town once again.

Councillor Gledhill stated from a personal view the planning laws were out of date and restrictions should be put in place for applications being resubmitted. Councillor Gledhill stated that a review would be brought forward to address the single yellow lines.

Councillor Halden stated that the business model for Stanford Le Hope was based on the need to support local people, support convenience stores and support customer parking so that these local services could be used. Councillor Halden stated that the review should be launched  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

Councillor Hebb presented the report that sought Members approval of the investment strategy approach and the subsequent related amendments to the Treasury Management Indicators that was based on 6 key principles which was presented to Cabinet on the 11 October 2017. Councillor Hebb stated it was important to remember that Thurrock Council had the third lowest net budget of all English Unitary Authorities, whilst having to deliver a large suite of services. That it was vital that front line services and other statutory services were not affected and investment had to be made. That a review will be undertaken of all Council services with becoming self-sufficient by 2020.

Councillor Duffin thanked and congratulated Councillor Hebb and Officers for the work undertaken and the direction that the Council was going. Councillor Duffin stated that some other Councils had already reached self-sufficiency and hoped Thurrock would be there in the future.

Councillor Gerrish supported the measures presented this evening and that it was important that the Council used sound measurements and treasury management to bolster up the Council’s finances. That Members would need reassurances to ensure there was adequate control over the exposure of risk and that the performance and risk are regularly audited by the Committee and the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee to ensure details can be reviewed.

Councillor B Rice thanked Councillor Hebb for the report and asked for clarification on the estimated increase on page 93 of Appendix 1, A3 of £10.48 in 2019/20 and to point out the error on page 95 of Appendix 1, D1 total for 2017/18 should have read £989,321.

Councillor J Kent stated that flexibility was important to cover for any opportunities that may arise and could Councillor Hebb confirm whether the Council Tax would go up by 5% in 2019/20.

Councillor Gledhill thanked Councillor Hebb for the report and stated that it was vital that the Council received monies and replied on grants from Government, otherwise the Council would fail. Councillor Gledhill would be supporting and endorsing the recommendations.

Councillor Hebb thanked Councillor Duffin for his kind words and for the recognition.

Councillor Hebb stated that there would be no impact on Council Tax or the Housing Revenue Account.

Upon being put to the vote, the majority of Members voted in favour of the recommendations, whereupon the Mayor declared the recommendations carried.

RESOLVED

1.            That the Council agreed the revised Treasury Management Indicators as set out in the Appendix 1.

2.         That the Council agreed that cash investment decisions that fall under a capital definition be treated as capital expenditure and the Treasury Management Indicators amended as necessary.

Councillor S Little, Cabinet Member for Children’s and Adult Social Care, introduced the report and stated how pleased she was to be presenting her second report as Portfolio Holder. Councillor S Little publicly thanked all officers for their continued support and all the hard work and effort put in.

Councillor S Little updated Members firstly on the following Adult Social Care services:

Thurrock First – Now based at the Thurrock Hospital and had brought staff from all three providers to work together under one service.

Shared Lives – Where adults with complex long term needs can live in a family setting in the community and hoped to have 5 placements by April 2018.

Local Co-ordinators – Continued feedback received from residents across the borough on what excellent work had been carried out by the local co-ordinators.

Chichester Close - in November 2016 the Council, with the support of the Clinical Commissioning Group, was awarded approximately £500k from the Housing and Technology for People with Learning Disabilities Local Authority Capital Fund to develop 8 homes for young people with learning disabilities who may otherwise have to live in residential care outside the Borough.

Councillor S Little stated that significant progress in Thurrock Children’s Social Care Services had been made over the past year with the service continuing to make improvements following the 2016 Ofsted Inspection and on its way to outstanding.

That Thurrock families deserved the best and that Councillor S Little was passionate to ensure that Thurrock Council delivered the best possible services to vulnerable children and their families.

The number of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children had dropped considerably to 35 following the work undertaken with colleagues in the Eastern Region authorities to establish a transfer protocol.

That a further 20 applications from potential new foster carers had been received and commended the good service undertaken by the Youth Offending Service.

Councillor Snell thanked the Portfolio Holder for her report and commended her on the good work that had come out of such a large portfolio. Councillor Snell requested further information on the Home from Hospital Initiative and asked whether the processes in place for domiciliary care were robust enough. Councillor S Little stated that problems with domiciliary care had been inherited from the previous administration and that some services had to be taken back in-house. That a new initiative was planned to be introduced on the basis of what people actually want and that panel would consist of 2 residents who already received domiciliary care.

Councillor Gerrish questioned the overspend in Children’s Social Care and how confident the portfolio was in delivering the services. Councillor S Little stated that the service was £1,885 million overspent but Members must understand the challenges and the complex cases with children in care and that it was a statutory duty of the Council to look after them. Reductions elsewhere in budgets had been made such as the cost of agency staff.

Councillor Okunade thanked the Portfolio Holder for the report and asked what  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

Councillor Coxshall, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, introduced the report and was delighted to be doing so on behalf of residents and businesses in Thurrock.

Councillor Coxshall updated Members on the following:

That 80% of working age residents were in employment which was up by 6.4% on the same period last year which was a fantastic result.

That the Tilbury Masterplan had been launched based on what residents want.

Development on the Integrated Medical Centre on Civic Square had continued.

That a  £10.8 million grant from the Local Growth Fund (Round 3) to complete the funding package for a new foot crossing under the rail line in High Street in Grays with a new public square and shops, had been secured.

Purfleet Centre will deliver new homes and a new town centre in Spring 2018 and a new health centre by 2020.

That consultation continued with stakeholders on the Local Plan and that the forums met regularly.

Councillor Snell stated that there were lots in the report that had to be commended and that residents of Thurrock need to be reminded that all the regeneration was right and proper. That there may be a fear that regeneration was going too far and how much green belt would actually be left. Councillor Snell asked what regeneration work would be planned for old estates. Councillor Coxshall stated that at this time the Council were not in a position to confirm what green belt would be used.

Councillor Gerrish welcomed the progress made but that the biggest decisions would need to be made by the Council were on the Local Plan. Councillor Gerrish asked the Portfolio Holder for reassure that all public consultations would be listened to and that all parties would be given the opportunity to comment and contribute to the plans going forward. Councillor Coxshall stated that he would give his guarantee that consultations would take place and that engagement would continue on the Local Plan right up to the voting of Stage 2.

Due to the time of debate running out Councillor Coxshall would provide written responses to the following questions:

Councillor B Rice stated that the Portfolio Holder did not realise that the uncertainty of the amount of planned regeneration will impact on residents of Thurrock. Councillor B Rice asked the Portfolio Holder whether all Tilbury and Chadwell residents, regardless of what general practitioner they use now, would be able to access the services offered at the new Integrated Medical Centre in Tilbury.

Councillor Duffin questioned what work had the Portfolio Holder and the Council done to lower the target of 32,000 homes set by the Government.

Councillor Baldwin asked the Portfolio Holder to reassure community groups and charities that as part of the regeneration of Civic Square that they would not find themselves homeless or be forced to close will be met as part of the overall plan.

Councillor J Kent stated that there were challenges ahead and asked the Portfolio Holder how these challenges and opportunities would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

In accordance with Chapter 2, Part 2 (Rule 14) of the Council’s Constitution.

The Mayor informed the Chamber that 4 questions to the Leader of the Council had been received and 2 questions to Cabinet Members.

A copy of the transcript of questions and answers can be found at Appendix A to these minutes.

At 9.14pm, the Mayor moved a motion to suspend Council Procedure Rule 11.1 to allow the meeting to continue beyond the 2.5 hour time limit until 10.00pm. The majority of Members indicated their agreement to the proposal.

Councillor G Rice attended an Anglian (Eastern) Regional Flood Defence Committee where it been announced that a new £14 million flood defence gate would be commissioned and built in 2018/19 with the existing barrier in place until the new flood defence gate had been built and that this was very good news for Tilbury.

The Minutes of Committees as set out in the Agenda were received.

Members received an information report updating the progress in respect of Motions received at Council over the last year.

The Motion, as printed in the Agenda was proposed by Councillor Gerrish and seconded by Councillor Fish. The Motion read as follows:

Thurrock Council supports the National Joint Council (NJC) pay claim for 2018, submitted by UNISON, GMB and Unite on behalf of the Council and school workers calls for the immediate end of public sector pay restraint. NJC pay cannot be allowed to fall further behind other parts of the public sector.

Thurrock Council therefore resolves to:

•           Write immediately to the LGA asking it to make urgent representations to Government to fund the NJC claim and the pay spine review;

•           Write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor supporting NJC pay claim and seeking the additional resources needed to fund a decent pay rise and pay spine review;

•           Meet with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and the pay spine review.

Councillor Gerrish presented the Motion and stated that most workers in Local Government and Schools had their pay determined by the National Joint Council for local government services who saw their pay freeze from 2010-2013 and only 1% pay increase annually since then. With inflation making the cost of living more expensive, pay had dropped by approximately 20%. Councillor Gerrish continued that it was not fair that Thurrock Council employees who delivered crucial services see their pay eroded year after year. Councillor Gerrish believed that hard work should be rewarded with fair pay and that Thurrock Council should set a good example of this. It was also noted that Thurrock Council could not meet the increases in pay asked for on their own and that Government should halt the cuts to Local Government and adequately fund employees pay. Councillor Gerrish was proud to support the Pay-Up Campaign and the work that had been done on the pay cap.

Councillor J Kent echoed Councillor Gerrish’s comments that recognised a need for pay restraints. This was not backed by a proper pay rise and consideration had to be given to those people that do those jobs and that it was about time they got a good pay rise and this was what they deserved.

Councillor Snell stated his support for the Motion and stated that it was about fairness and it was about time people got what they deserved.

Councillor Gledhill would not be supporting the Motion in this form but wanted to make it clear that it was about time pay restrictions on public serving staff are removed. The fact was that the Council was losing employees to the private sector due to more financial benefits. Councillor Gledhill stated that pay increases came from tax payers and that this Motion was asking for an unrealistic 5% increase. That an Annual Pay Policy report was presented at February 2017 Full Council identifying the 1% pay increase with no comments made by Members.

Councillor Coxshall stated that he would not be supporting the Motion as the budget required to be sound and in credit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

The Motion, as printed in the Agenda was proposed by Councillor Jones and seconded by Councillor Snell. The Motion read as follows:

We call on Thurrock Council to write to the Secretary of State to express many residents’ views that in its present state the police service contact number 101 is not fit for purpose.

Councillor Jones presented the Motion and stated no response had been received from the Secretary of State from a letter sent one year ago and that the 101 Police Service had not improved in this time. That residents still continued to complain about the service and the lack of poor response.

Councillor Gledhill confirmed his agreement with the Motion and stated that each month he would continue to chase the Secretary of State for a response as this needed to happen now.

Councillor Snell spoke in favour of the Motion and requested the Motion go straight to vote.

The Mayor called a vote on the Motion.

Following a clear majority in favour, the Mayor declared the Motion carried.

Subject to Council Procedure Rules, Chapter 2, Part 2, Rule 11.3 the following 2 motions are deemed formally moved and seconded and would be put to the vote by the Mayor without Debate.

The Motion, as printed in the Agenda, was proposed by Councillor J Kent. The Motion read as follows:

Thurrock Council believes the, so called, "dementia tax" is unfair and would be damaging to many older residents of Thurrock. The Council calls on the care minister, Jackie Doyle-Price, to rule out forcing older people to pay for their care with their home.

Councillor J Kent presented the Motion and stated it was the Government’s plans to revive the “dementia tax” and that the Conservative Social Care Minister, Jackie Doyle-Price, had recently stated that people with homes should not see this as an asset to give to their offspring. Councillor J Kent stated that dementia tax was not the answer and had caused upset and had been unsettled that this item was now back on the agenda and stated that people with dementia should not be forced to pay for care with their homes and should not be part of the reform.

The Mayor called a vote on the Motion.

Upon being put to the vote, 22 Members voted in favour of the Motion with 13 Members against, whereupon the Mayor declared the Motion carried.

The Motion, as printed in the Agenda was proposed by Councillor Gerrish. The Motion read as follows:

Thurrock Council calls on the Government to provide the necessary resources and rule changes which would allow councils to build additional council housing at a scale proportional to need, in particular removing the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap.  Council resolves to:

•           Write to the Prime Minister, Chancellor and DCLG setting out our concerns and seeking urgent action to enable the building of council housing at necessary volumes.

•           Write to Thurrock’s MPs seeking all possible Parliamentary support.

•           Request that the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee consider whether there are any additional local opportunities to increase our supply of new council houses in Thurrock.

Councillor Gerrish presented the Motion and stated that the average waiting time for a council house now stood at 14 years and that the Revenue Account be relaxed to allow Councils to build more council houses based on need. That the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee could take up a review on this to consider additional local opportunity and Councillor Gerrish stated that it should be a right and not a privilege for residents to have access to affordable council housing.

The Mayor called a vote on the Motion.

Following a clear majority in favour, the Mayor declared the Motion carried.