To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Council, held on 29 January 2025.

The minutes of Council held on the 29 January 2025 were approved as a correct record.

To receive any declaration of interests from Members.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Leader welcomed Councillor Coxshall as the new interim leader of the Thurrock conservative group and looked forward to a constructive relationship as the improvement journey of the council continued. The Leader also thanked Councillor Jefferies for the work he had undertaken in his commitment as leader of the council and for his time as an elected member.

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

The Mayor informed the chamber of the question received:

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

No notices of petition had been received.

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.

No changes to appointments were made.

Councillor Muldowney presented the report. The Localism Act 2011 required the Council to publish an Annual Pay Policy Statement, this must be approved in advance of the financial year to which it applied.

Councillors Halden and Speight spoke on this item with the following comments made:

·       Agreed was a good paper.

·       Important to have equity on all levels of pay.

·       Some authorities monitoring how they look after the pay of people who sat formally outside the organisation.

·       Paper represented good progress with regards to internal equity.

·       Ensure we look at equal health and equity of key workers for the council, those not formally part of the council structure.

·       Concern raised regarding the policy of pay and positions.

·       Noted how the council continued to manage staff.

·       Noted the current vacancies on the council’s website.

·       Need to continue to be in control of the council’s workforce.

RESOLVED

Approved the Council’s Annual Pay Policy Statement 2024/25 attached as Appendix 1.

Councillor Muldowney presented the report. Each year local authority housing landlords were required to set rents and budgets for the forthcoming financial year. The report presented set out the base position for 2025/26 following the refresh of the 30-year Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan.

Councillors Halden, Speight and Johnson spoke on this item with the following comments made:

·       Acknowledged the increase of rents from to time to time was how certain services were funded.

·       Noted this was the maximum possible rent increase that could possibly be imposed on our constituents.

·       Commissioner comments were clear that we need to refresh and review our Policy on ethical debt collection. This had not been done.

·       Need a robust policy in place for those people who want to pay but can’t.

·       It was noted that Conservatives voted against recommendations 2.2 and 2.3.

·       Pleased that a compassionate approach was being taken for those residents who were in debt in relation to council rents.

·       Acknowledged the caring approach from within the teams of the council.

·       Questioned whether the portfolio holder was against the right to buy scheme when there were plans being forwarded to remove it.

RESOLVED

For the reasons set out in this report, Council was recommended to endorse the decisions of Cabinet of 12 February 2025 and:

2.1   Approved the Rent Flexibility approach of Formula Rent plus 5% for new tenancies in properties governed by formula rent, and 10% for new tenancies in supported housing (as explained in paragraphs 4.4 and 4.5 of this report). Please note this is only applicable in the event of relets.

2.2   Approved the increase in rents, in line with Government Policy on rents for social housing, (as explained in paragraphs 4.7 to 4.9 of this report) to 2.7%.

2.3    Approved the increase in Tenant and Leasehold Service charges and other HRA fees and charges for 2025/26, (as explained in paragraphs 4.11 to 4.14 of this report) and detailed in Appendices 1 and 2.

2.4   Approved the setting of an indicative balanced HRA budget for 2025/26 (as per paragraph 4.34 and Table 3 of this report).

2.5   Approved the 5-year HRA Business Plan for 2025/26–2029/30 (as per paragraphs 4.35 to 4.38 of this report) as detailed in Appendix 3 and note that this is an extract from the 30-year HRA Business Plan.

2.6   Noted the ongoing HRA capital programme composed of two main strands, Transforming Homes and the Demolition, Rebuilds and Acquisitions programme of which the next five years are presented at £80m and £104m respectively. Approval of these is sought via a separate Cabinet report that will be presented to February 2025 Cabinet as part of the Council’s overall capital programme.

Councillor Muldowney presented the report. This report set out proposed changes to the Council’s rolling five-year capital programme from 2025/26.

Councillors Halden, Speight, L Watson and Morris Cook spoke on this item with the following comments made:

·       Great deal of good news in the presentation of the report.

·       Minor issue referencing a capital budget extended to 2030 when a given fact that the council would not exist for much longer.

·       Caution raised on over-promising and under-delivering.

·       Noted advice provided on certain capital issues changed radically from the previous administration to the current administration.

·       Noted that when the council discussed an item, to understand there were certain things that councils can control and there are certain things that it cannot.

·       Report very woolly with lack of detail and budget estimation.

·       Questioned the £11m budget for the plans for the Stanford Le Hope rail station as those plans were unknown to members.

·       Questioned the £2.5m budget for the A13 widening.

·       Need to recognise the problem of risk.

·       Questioned whether all the projects in the capital budget would be delivered in the next 12 months.

·       Delighted with the £11m budget for the Stanford Le Hope rail station and now this had come forward for the residents of Stanford Le Hope who deserved it.

·       Acknowledged the good news on the Orchard Road footbridge.

·       Delighted that £152,000 had been highlighted for the Thameside to carry on looking at a condition report and confirmed the administration would not be looking to cut or close the Thameside Theatre.  

RESOLVED

That Council approved:

a)     The proposed new capital projects in line with the 2025/26 stipulations and criteria as set out in table 3 (appendix B).

b)     In principle the proposed financing of the additions to the capital programme as set out in table 4 (appendix C).

c)     The draft capital programme of £316.718m over the 5 year period from 2025/26 to 2029/30 as set out in table 4 (appendix C).

d)     The implementation of the Governance Improvements section (paragraph 4.5).

Councillor Muldowney presented the report. 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 Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) - Code of Practice on Treasury Management 2021, Prudential Code 2021 and statutory guidance on investments and Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP).

Councillors Halden and Speight spoke on this item with the following comments made:

·       Agreed a good report that balanced prudent control of finances whilst trying to remain relatively ambitious with investments and borrowing.

·       Acknowledged the highly technical work undertaken by officers.

RESOLVED

That Council approved:

2.1   The proposed Treasury Management Strategy and prudential indicators for 2025/26, 2026/27, 2027/28 2028/29 and 2029/30 in 11.1, 12.4, 15.6, 15.8, 15.9, 16.16 and 17.2.

2.2   The proposed change in the Authorised Limit 2024/25 to £1.4bn, and the approval of a £1.4bn Authorised Limit in 2025/26 and the following four years, as set out in Section 15.10.

2.3   The proposed MRP Policy for 2025/26 as set out in Section 13 and will be reviewed for 2026/27.

2.4   The proposed Borrowing Strategy as set out in Section 15.

2.5   The proposed investment policy as set out in 16.

2.6   The actual prudential indicators for 2023/24 shown at Appendix A.

The report presented set out the final revenue budget for 2025/26 and MTFS 2025/26 to 2028/29 which incorporated the implications of all key financial strategies. The report also set out the 2025/26 revenue budget at £240.7m to cover the operating budget of £176.4m and treasury costs of £64.3m. As the Council’s core funding is £168.5m, the Council required an estimated CD of £72.1m to ensure a legally balanced budget could be set.

The Leader

Madam Mayor, I am pleased to move the final revenue budget for 2025/26 and the final medium term financial strategy for the period 2025/26 to 2028/29. This budget that we're discussing this evening has been put together against the very toughest of backdrops, a backdrop of crippling debt, a revenue budget that was spending way beyond its means and a medium -term financial strategy that was simply not fit for purpose. Cabinet has worked hard over the last nine months to start to reshape the way the Council works and in doing so to change the relationship between the council and our residents, our businesses and our partners. And I genuinely appreciate the many, many hours of painstaking hard work that's been undertaken by all portfolio holders in coming up with the budget proposals this evening, proposals on which we are all agreed. I especially want to thank Councillor Muldowney, the portfolio holder for resources, for her painstaking and detailed work and leadership in creating our budget. I appreciate and thank all officers who have worked so hard on these proposals, especially Dawn Calvert, our Section 151 officer, who has done some amazing work in crafting this budget, at the same time as starting to stabilise the finances of the Council, transforming her small finance team and ensuring that we deliver on the savings that we agreed this time last year. And Madam Mayor, this budget is the result of really strong collaboration between members of all parties and no party. So I thank all members of Overview and Scrutiny Committees and the Chairs of those committees for the constructive role that they've played in shaping the budget before us this evening. I particularly want to thank Councillor Ben Maney for his work as Chair of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee and for his efforts and the way that he chaired the lengthy but really positive joint scrutiny committee meeting that we had before Christmas. Madam Mayor, this budget allows 176 million pounds for delivering services for our residents next year. It identifies 18.2 million pounds worth of savings and relies on a 5% council tax increase. And I have to remind all members that balancing the budget, controlling the debt and working together to make the council financially sustainable is a duty and a responsibility on each and every one of us. It is a legal requirement for us, as it is for any council, to set an annual budget that is to be balanced or at least fully funded. Clearly, we are regrettably  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111.

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

The Mayor informed the chamber of the questions received to the leader and cabinet members:

No reports were presented.

The minutes of committees as set out in the agenda were received.

Members received an update on outstanding motions.

Councillor Speight referred to the Investigation into Planning Services motion. He raised his disappointment on the contents of the report and stated he had been expecting a substantive assessment of some of the decisions taken. There had been legitimate evidence to call in the report which had been rejected. This had been an opportunity for senior officers to investigate.  

Motion 1, as printed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Speight and seconded by Councillor G Byrne. The Motion read as follows:

Following the decision by a second successive government to reject this council’s request for a public inquiry into its financial collapse this chamber takes heed of the Local Government Minister’s words when he says he says he “supports any local action to explore the reasons leading to historic issues to ensure that we can all learn’. The BVI document is an explanatory document, but it openly stops short of investigating serious issues that it identifies. These remain unexplored and unexplained in the public eye. Therefore, we ask the executive (Cabinet) to consider all further options open to the council to look into past actions and fulfil this authority’s pledge to our residents to be ‘open, honest and transparent’. 

Councillor Speight stated there remained many unanswered questions, questions repeatedly asked by members of the public and it was embarrassing that members had no answers. The best way forward would be to engage with other troubled councils who had suffered mismanagement and irresponsible borrowing. Hope the matter would be referred to a parliamentary committee who had the powers to hold those involved to account.

Councillors J Kent and G Byrne spoke on this item with the following comments made: 

·       Labour group would support the motion.

·       Decision of the minister had been disappointing but not unexpected.

·       View remained the same that an independent inquiry was required to discover what had led to the financial collapse of the council.

·       Inquiry should be across all those eight authorities who were served with the Section 114 notice.

·       Questioned the impact of abandoning external scrutiny bodies such as the Audit Commission.

·       Questioned the role of the external auditor and government department and the part they played.

·       A statutory inquiry was vital.

·       Solution could be for the parliamentary select committee for local government to look at those eight councils individually, look at individual circumstances and look for any collective impact.

·       Important that lessons were learnt.

·       Seconder commented that residents had been left to suffer the consequences, those responsible should be held to account and that only a full inquiry would satisfy residents of Thurrock.

Councillor Speight summed up by agreeing it was the ability to hold those responsible to account and for the executive to consider all further options.

The Mayor called a vote on the motion, to which members voted unanimously in favour. The Mayor announced the motion carried.

Motion 2 was withdrawn in advance of the meeting.

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

Thurrock Council - Full Council, 26/02/2025