THE COMING year may be the most challenging that Thurrock Council has ever faced. Budgetary cuts and efficiency savings mean the the council coffers have declined from over £170 million just a few years ago to close to £85 million.
This was the first question we put to Mr Farrant in an interview that is just under twenty minutes long.
We covered a number of subjects including: The Barking and Dagenham merger; the criticism of Thurrock Council by Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price; the challenges of working with a minority administration; the biggest issues such as adult social care and much much more.
We did finish off with looking at the positive aspects to life in the borough.
Didn’t give much away did he?
Still worrying to hear about the Thameside Theatre and Library, Child and Adult social care though.
he seems a nice man.
He has certainly honed his presentation skills over the last four years at the Council.
Doing a difficult job well I would say.
Neat jab at Local Govt Secretary of State over prohibition of CCTV to stop people breaking the law..very diplomatic about our much loved MP
Very good interview with Mr Farrant. What always impresses me with Mr Farrant is he is not afraid to say, we can do better. He has recognised that some Councillors are not doing the job well, would be helpful if he could take control of this for the sake of his residents.And yes Rocket1 he is a nice man.
I am concerned that cut backs include Social Care both Adult and Children, if I remember rightly Social care was targeted four years ago and Social workers were being laid off due to these cuts. It was the job of Councillor Curtis to decide who went and who stayed, the ones he has left all seem to be of a different Culture and very difficult to understand, no doubt cheap labour, it is very concerning that these foreign workers do not have the same ethics as a British born person and seem to favour the eastern prejudices view of family life. Could someone please inform Mr Farrant that there is no place for such child social workers in Thurrock as these, Children’s lives are sometimes at risk. The needs for a Child risk assessment is not being met because of the different cultures and ignorance. If cuts need to be made I strongly suggest that these foreign workers are the first to go. In my view Women and Children sometimes need protection and what I have just experienced falls far short of that. I hope Mr Farrant takes heed of my concerns because a child will die, maybe not by another’s hand but by their own.
I’ve just read a number of comments congratulating a person on slick presentation and one on the substance of service delivery which appears to be fairly damning.
So presentation over substance is what now counts as success. Very new Labour.
Show us the evidence of success Mr Farrant. Glossy interviews are window dressing. Explain in detail what has improved and give evidence of it. You only know success when you’re awash with money. Show us how you perform in hard times and tell us all about your bonuses.
Why should any Chief Executive at Thurrock Council be worried about poor services and failure.
Remind me just how much previous Chief Executives were paid off to leave Thurrock Council?
Didn’t David White get a payoff of £347,000 to leave and didn’t Angie Ridgewell get £330,000 payoff?