Council and democracy

Agenda item

Statements by the Leader

Minutes:

The Leader began his statement by welcoming Councillor Halden to the Cabinet in his new role as Portfolio Holder for Children and Adults Social Care. He also welcomed Ian Hunt, and the new Assistant Director Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer, and Sheila Murphy, the new Corporate Director Children’s Services. He wished them all luck in their new roles and hoped to see a continuation of the good work that the previous post-holders had achieved.

The Leader then moved on to discussing the new anti-social behaviour initiatives that had taken place across Tilbury, in liaison with Essex Police, to tackle problems such as parking and graffiti. He stated that Operation Banjo had occurred on 2 March 2020 after concerns from residents and local Councillors had been raised, which tackled nuisance parking along Lansdowne Road. He highlighted that 19 parking warnings had been issued for anti-social parking, 14 Fixed Penalty Notices had been issued, and one driver had been found to have an uninsured vehicle. The Leader then described the success that had been had with Operation Bellina, which had been tasked with tackling graffiti, and stated that in the first 36 hours, 85 tags had been removed, 1 Fixed Penalty Notice had been issued for fly-tipping, and a Duty of Care Waste Notice had been issued.

The Leader updated Cabinet on the latest developments with the Tilbury Board and Grays Board, and stated that the committees for these groups had now been set up, and both contained members of the local community, MPs, Councillors and business leaders. He felt this was a good opportunity to increase the economy, culture, transport, and connectivity across the borough, and looked forward to seeing bids and improvements.

The Leader moved onto describing the Clean It, Cut It, Fill It Update, and stated that since April 2019: 2042 potholes had been filled (99% within target time); 117 fly-tips had been cleared; 3087 tonnes of waste removed; 3737 Fixed Penalty Notices issues; 208 £400 fly-tipping Fixed Penalty Notices issued; and 268 people had been prosecuted for failure to pay on the spot fines.

The Leader summarised and stated that he wanted to reassure residents regarding the recent outbreaks of Coronavirus, and the preparations that the Council had in place to deal with this. He stated that officers were in contact with Public Health England and were following national advice and updates, with a daily briefing being sent to all Group Leaders. He urged residents to follow the facts and national advice, as there were currently only 32 cases in the East of England, and none confirmed in Thurrock, with most not requiring medical intervention. He reassured residents that the Council had robust business continuity plans in place that would ensure services could continue to operate. He restated the national advice and encouraged residents to follow the NHS and Public Health England’s advice of maintaining personal hygiene, regularly washing hands for 20 seconds, and carrying tissues to catch a sneeze or cough. He stated that if a resident felt any symptoms of Coronavirus, they should self-isolate and use the NHS’ 111 to seek medical advice.