To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Extraordinary Council, held on 31 January 2024.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Council, held on 31 January 2024.

Minutes of Extraordinary Council held on the 31 January 2024 were approved as a correct record.

Minutes of Council held on the 31 January 2024 were approved as a correct record. Councillor Speight voted against these minutes.

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.

There were no urgent items of business.

To receive any declaration of interests from Members.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Mayor acknowledged the official portrait of His Majesty King Charles III was now being displayed in the chamber and on behalf of all members wished him a speedy recovery.

The Leader made the following announcements:

·       Since last full council meeting, the council in partnership with the Department of Transport and other councils had launched a new initiative to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour on railways and secured £490,000 from the Department of Transport for new transport safety officers.

·       A joint operation with Essex Police to tackle dangerous drivers and car cruising in West Thurrock, using a mobile CCTV van to enforce the public spare protection orders.

·       Heard today that Jetstream had decided not to continue running the ferry crossing service from Tilbury to Gravesend. The Leader gave his reassurance that every effort would be made to ensure that a new ferry supplier would be found.  

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

The Mayor informed the chamber that three questions had been received from members of public.

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

A petition was presented in respect of a request to sell small piece of land, title number EX798887, at Market rate to Grays Gurdwara, Sikh Temple. Councillor B Maney provided a response.

Members received a report on the status of those petitions handed in at Council meetings and Council office.

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.

There were no changes to appointments made.

The report presented informed Council of a Polling Place amendment within Belhus Ward.

No points arose.

RESOLVED

That members noted the new polling arrangements for Belhus Ward, polling districts E2 and F and the new polling place is Belhus Park Scout Hall, Faymore Gardens.

The report provided background and details of the decision taken by Commissioners to appoint Dawn Calvert as Section 151 Officer in line with the powers transferred to them by the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. This appointment was also considered and recommended to Commissioners at the meeting of General Services Committee on 13 February 2024.

Members thanked Steven Mair for all his hard work in his role as acting Section 151 Officer and wished him well for the future.

RESOLVED

That Full Council noted the decision of Commissioners to appoint Dawn Calvert Interim Chief Finance Officer as Section 151 Officer.

Meeting was suspended at 7.45pm

Meeting reconvened at 7.51pm.

Under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 there was a requirement for the Council’s Chief Finance Officer to report to Council on the robustness of the estimates made for the purposes of the calculations of the budget and the adequacy of the proposed level of financial reserves.

The following points were raised:

·       The report confirmed that the Council was not yet on the path to sustainability by the end of the next five-year period.

·       The report had listed the range of risks.

·       Very difficult to bring the budget in May next year but will be something all members will be working hard to achieve.

·       The budget put forward had shortfalls and required solutions to be found.

·       The report highlighted the council was still in a very precarious financial position.

Members approved the recommendation.

RESOLVED

That Council had regard to this report when making decisions about the calculation of council tax requirement.

The Council’s financial position was virtually unprecedently challenging and would remain so for several years. The position was forecast to improve considerably in the next five years, via the divestment of assets, the implementation of a challenging savings programme, working differently and service delivery changes. The report presented the council’s financial position.

The following points were raised:

·       There was no option but to approve the report.

·       This was a clear strategy document for all members to see.

·       There was no clear route to set the budget without Government support.

·       Labour welcomed and would support the recommendation.

Members voted to approve the recommendation with 46 votes in favour, 0 votes against and 2 abstained votes.

RESOLVED

That Council approved the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and in doing so agreed the financial targets summarised in paragraph 1.3; the financial assumptions / deliverables as summarised at paragraph 1.4 to 1.7; that if any of the above targets or assumptions adversely vary, alternatives to the same timescale and value would need to be identified and implemented; the treatment of the MRP calculations was based on recent KC guidance and was subject to approval from the Councils auditors and there was an inherent risk that these numbers could change.

The report set out the proposed changes to the Council’s capital strategy from 2024/25 to 2028/29.

The following points were raised:

·       The document made sobering reading.

·       Element of the improvement journey to financial sustainability had been overlooked.

·       The report highlighted how the Council had ripped the heart and soul out of the borough and was a sad landmark point in the Council’s history.

·       Welcomed some of the lessons that appeared to have been learnt as a result of the Government intervention.

·       Report highlighted issues how the Council had been prior to the run up to the point of intervention.

·       There were now reassurances that capital projects must be agreed in the open and with more money security behind them.

·       Looking to the future the Council needed to enable the community to do more.

Members voted to approve the recommendation with 45 votes in favour, 0 votes against and 3 abstained votes.

RESOLVED

That Council approved: (a) the revised capital programme and 5-year capital programme for 2024/25 to 2028/29 as set out in this report (b) that the capital projects: currently “on hold” totalling £119.0m were not included in the Capital Programme and the associated borrowing of £62.9m was not required; the capital schemes that have not started totalling £3.3m were also formally confirmed as removed from the capital programme and the associated borrowing of £3.3m was not required and those schemes assessed and considered no longer necessary totalling £60.1m were confirmed as removed from the capital programme and the associated borrowing of £56.5m was not required (c) the proposed financing of the capital programme (d) delegation to the Interim Director of Finance s151, in consultation with Commissioners, all decisions surrounding the financing of expenditure within the revised capital programme, in a manner which achieves the most effective use of Council’s resources (e) that any future changes to the capital programme should be approved by Council, whilst ensuring that external funding was able to be used in a timely manner, with any new borrowing requirements subject to Commissioner approval (f) that the Capital Programme Board review and receive updates on the action plans put in place to address the further improvements identified and to note progress on continued delivery of these improvements.

The report set out the proposed 30-Year Business Plan for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and considered both the Revenue and Capital position.

The following points were raised:

·       Identified the need to increase rents, but the Council must continue to offer a good service, keeping the staff costs down at all times.

·       Increase the number of homes that the Council inspected.

·       Be prepared for dealing with damp and mould legislation.

·       Confident that housing would continue to perform the day-to-day delivery to a very good standard.

·       The report made no mention of the 500 new homes.

·       This would affect every person on the housing list waiting to move from a flat to a house.

·       Since the report had been published the use of right to buy receipts to purchase additional homes would not be used to support a temporary accommodation offer.

·       The Council needed to find a way to bring new, affordable homes to Thurrock potentially working with housing associations and developments.

·       Appealed to commissioners to allow the Council to borrow to enable the council to purchase properties from the market to use as temporary accommodation, which would save money as most would be paid out of housing benefit which would avoid a significant number of cuts to the Council.

·       Questioned what the limits were that the commissioners and Government could offer to Thurrock.

·       The business plan offered a lack of ambition, omitted details and made no refences to the fundamental part of the Council’s future.

·       Questioned whether any attempt to consider new partnerships such as housing associations.

·       Questioned whether this was a 30-year-old business plan or a snapshot in time.

·       Concerns raised in the HRA was where presumptions were being made on the procurement of items such as the repairs contract.

·       Concern that scrutiny was unable to keep pace with the procurement exercise.

·       Concerns also raised on the delivery of new council homes.

·       Referred to the social housing scheme recently presented at Planning Committee that could now be in jeopardy and urged commissioners to take another look at that.

·       Referred to Blackshots and how this project was progressing well and should not be lost and urged commissioners to look further into that.

·       Praised the work of housing officers on the Blackshots project.

·       Referred to the delivery of social and affordable housing and questioned whether those land assets owned by the Council could be sold to lease developers.

Members voted to approve recommendations 1.1 and 1.2 with 46 votes in favour, 0 votes against and 2 abstained votes.

Members voted to note recommendations 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7 with 48 votes in favour, 0 votes against and 0 abstained votes.

RESOLVED

Council approved:

1.1      The HRA revenue budget for 2024/25 (Table 1 & Appendix A)

1.2      The HRA 5-year capital programme for a total of £175.069m (Table 3 & Appendix C).

Council noted:

1.3      The HRA 5-year revenue budgets for 2024-25 to 2028-29 (Table 1 & Appendix A);

1.4      The HRA 30-year revenue budget for 2024-25 to 2053-54 (Appendix B);

1.5      The 30-year  ...  view the full minutes text for item 136.

This report was approved at Cabinet held on the 21 February 2024.

The report presented set out the number of properties within Thurrock that were chargeable for council tax and classified them into Band D equivalents for budget setting purposes. The report also referred to the Collection Fund Balances 2023/24 where regulations required a local authority to estimate the balance on its Collection Fund as of 31 March each year. Any such balance relating to Council Tax was to be distributed to/borne by the Council and the Essex Police and Fire Authorities in proportion to the value of their respective precepts.

Labour stated their support for the recommendations and that it made sense to move back to the previous way with cabinet looking at the base before the council budget setting meeting.

Members voted to note recommendation 1.1 with 48 votes in favour, 0 votes against and 0 abstained votes.

Members voted to approve recommendations 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 with 48 votes in favour, 0 votes against and 0 abstained votes.

RESOLVED

Council noted:

1.1      That under existing delegated authority the Council Tax Base for 2024/25, calculated in accordance with legislation, has been set by the Interim Chief Financial Officer at 53,322 properties.

Council approved:

1.2      The proposal that in future years Cabinet would be required to approve the Council Tax Base and change the Constitution accordingly;

1.3      The proposal that: (a) the estimated 31 March 2024 balance of the Council Tax Collection Fund to be a surplus of £326,924 (before distribution to major precepting authorities) and (b) allocated the surplus to the three main precepting bodies in proportion to their precepts for 2023/24 as follows: Thurrock Council £272,910; Essex Police £40,193 and Essex County Fire £13,821. Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner, but each had an individual precept balance.

1.4      The proposal that: (a) the estimated 31 March 2024 balance of the Business Rate Collection Fund to be a surplus of £7,272,612 (before distribution to Central Government and Essex County Fire) and (b) allocated the surplus to the three main precepting bodies in the proportion set out in legislation: (i) Thurrock Council £3,563,580; (ii) Central Government £3,636,306; and (iii) Essex County Fire £72,726.

This report provided details and impacts of the current level of council tax premiums charged within Thurrock and provided further information to allow consideration of the recommendation that the council introduced changes to these premiums in line with the amended legislation.

The following points were raised:

·       Labour agreed these were sensible measures that would be supported.

·       Questioned how the council would monitor where the properties were being actively marketed.

·       What measures would be put in place for properties undergoing major repairs.

·       Councillor Speight proposed to defer recommendation 1.2 for further consideration.

Members voted to approve recommendation 1.1 with 47 votes in favour, 1 vote against and 0 abstained votes.

Members voted unanimously in favour to defer recommendation 1.2 for further consideration.

Members voted unanimously in favour to approve recommendation 1.3.

RESOLVED

The Council approved:

1.1      That from the 1 April 2024 a council tax premium was charged (in addition to normal council tax) on long term empty and substantially unfurnished properties as follows: Properties empty after 12 months and up to 5 Years = 100% Premium; Properties empty between 5 and up to 10 years = 200% Premium; Properties empty over 10 years = 300% Premium;

1.2      That from 1 April 2025 a 100% council tax premium was charged (in addition to normal council tax) on properties classed as 2nd homes – DEFERRED FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION.

1.3      That from 2024/25, Quarterly outturn reports to Cabinet would include a clear and transparent summary on the council tax performance, including additional income secured through the proposed changes to the premium.

The meeting was suspended at 9.05pm.

The meeting reconvened at 9.19pm.

The Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) helped support council taxpayers who had a low income by providing a reduction to the actual amount of Council Tax payable. The Council was required to consider the scheme annually and consult on any changes before they were introduced. The current LCTS scheme was implemented on the 1 April 2017 following consultation and had been agreed for each subsequent year up to the current financial year with no changes.

Labour welcomed the extension of the existing scheme and for the full review to be carried out.

Members voted unanimously in favour to approve recommendations 1.1 and 1.2.

RESOLVED

That Council approved:

1.1      The current Local Council Tax support scheme for 2024/25 which has been in place since 2017/18 with no changes as detailed in section 3.1.

1.2      A full review of the scheme in 2024/25 and completed by autumn, to enable inclusion within the budget setting process for 2025/26 and to comply with the Commissioner’s recommendation above.

This report was approved at Cabinet held on the 21 February 2024.

The Leader

As members are fully aware, the Council has had serious financial challenges over the last few years. We have to be aware of these challenges and we have to face them head on. We've had to make some tough decisions in this budget to secure a viable long-term future for Thurrock. We have made great progress in securing the viability of this Council. When you consider two years ago we were in a place where we did not know if Thurrock would be able to continue as a Council, I want to thank officers for their time, effort, and advice in helping to secure this budget. I know that it was a hard budget to work on, and I want to thank everyone who worked on putting it together.

By supporting this budget today, all 49 members are taking responsibility for the future of this Council. They are saying yes to securing a future of fiscal responsibility and they are proving they have learned the lessons from the BVI and are willing to make the tough decisions that decades of different Thurrock administrations showed that they were unwilling to make. Thurrock has come a long way, and this should be applauded and all Members who have contributed to the positive development of Thurrock should be congratulated. It's only by gritting our teeth and making decisions that are challenging are we able to secure the future of Thurrock, simply saying no, and offering no alternative, as has happened in the past, can't happen again. We all have the responsibility to the residents of Thurrock to help deliver a well-run local authority. This budget has received more scrutiny than any in Thurrock’s history and I would like to thank Councillor Kerin for chairing all the extraordinary O&Ss meetings and all Members who offered fair challenge and questioned the many parts of this budget. This again showed that we were learning the lessons from the BVI which have challenged the Council scrutiny process. I personally thought that the two meetings were truly a good concept and should be done every year, although I might like to consider booking a day of work the next day.

My administration is committed to making the correct decisions for a better future for Thurrock, these have not been easy, but we have secured the future of our libraries and saved our school crossing patrols in order to keep the services that matter to the residents of Thurrock. The council was asked to increase council tax by 10% this was deemed unfair by myself and my administration to Councillor Snell, Councillor Maney and I had a very challenging discussion with ministers. I am pleased to say he recognised that we were not prepared to increase the tax by 10% and if his budget is passed this evening council tax will be increased by 7.99%, this means that Thurrock will no longer have the lowest council tax in Essex, but we will in fact be the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 142.

The report presented updated Members on the delivery of the 2023/24 Treasury Management Strategy approved by Council on 1 March 2023.

Members voted unanimously in favour to agree recommendations 1.1 and 1.2.

RESOLVED

Council agreed:

1.1      That there was a revision to the Counterparty Limits in that investments placed with the Debt Management Office (DMO) were changed from £5m to unlimited.

1.2      Amend the Minimum Revenue Provision policy to revert back to Option 1 in respect of supported capital expenditure in line with the Statutory MRP Guidance.

The Council was required to approve a Treasury Management Strategy before the start of each financial year. This was in accordance with the Chartered Institute of Public Accountancy Code of Practice on Treasury Management 2021. The Council’s Treasury Management Strategy set out the parameters for the Council’s planned treasury activity during 2024/25 under which the Treasury Team would manage activity. The strategy reflected the Council’s proposed Capital Programme 2024/25 to 2028/29.

Members voted unanimously in favour to approve recommendations 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and to note recommendation 1.4.

RESOLVED

That Council approved:

1.1      The proposed Treasury Management Strategy for 2024/25;

1.2      The proposed MRP Policy for 2024/25 as set out in Section 9;

1.3      The proposed Borrowing Strategy as set out in Section 7.

That Council noted:

1.4      The requirement within the Prudential Code 2021 for quarterly reporting on the Council’s Treasury Management activities. These reports will be presented quarterly during the year.

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

The Mayor informed the chamber of the questions received to cabinet members.

No reports were presented.  

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.

Councillor Redsell referred to her Motion raised at October 2023 council meeting to establish a task and finish group to look at options for tackling school parking across the borough and stated the lack of response had been unacceptable.

Councillor Speight referred to his Motion raised at September 2023 council meeting to commission a full independent inquiry into the management and achievements of Thurrock Council’s planning department since 2015. Following the closure of a significant police investigation now cleared the way for no further delay for the council to undertake a thorough independent investigation into the planning department.  

This item was deferred to the 20 March 2024 council meeting.

A full recording of the meeting can be viewed from the following link:

Council - Wednesday 28 February 2024, 7:00pm - Thurrock Council committee meeting webcasts (public-i.tv)