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.