Thurrock Labour silent as “savage cuts” may see the end of community transport

This is just the start… Wait for fortnightly bin collections, library closures and leisure facilities being shut down. In addition to unimaginable cuts to the voluntary sector Thurrock residents are going to be in for a shock over the next 12-18 months.

Easy target for the Council .. Elderly and Disabled. I work at a Sheltered Accommodation and we use Trans-Vol regularly, their seaside trips etc are excellent – the only “holiday” our disabled residents get. Private Wheelchair Access vehicles are way too expensive. How about cutting some of the almost 50 Councillors and their “expenses” instead ??!!!

Susan88 as always with politicians the easiest targets are the most valuable in terms of causing the most emotional response among the public. Pick on the disabled and elderly first, then the children, then the mentally ill etc etc. Work your way down from their. But at all cost never suggest the sacking of a senior manager. They just wouldn’t be able to function without them.

I think it is disgusting. All these councilors earning all that money and they are cutting things like this! Disgusting. Those poor elderly people, how are they going to get around?! This company has been running for years and I know people who use this service and they love it? So why cut something so useful. Suppose the councilors will love that! Getting themselves a lovely little pay rise for doing NOTHING! I’m totally against this!! This community is becoming a joke.

Lets play Devil’s Advocate. In no way am I endorsing any of Labour’s planned cuts.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to provide certain services. When budgets are squeezed and there is less spare cash sloshing about in the Civic Offices coffers then, irrespective of the party running Thurrock Council, key statutory services need to be protected first.

Does Thurrock Council have a statutory duty to prop up a number of charities and voluntary organisations with taxpayers cash? Or should these charities and voluntary organisation be expected to stand on their own two feet and raise or source funds like most other voluntary and charitable organisations?

Will 2,000 pensioners really be housebound? With free bus passes for all pensioners and upto £56.75 per week Mobility component of Disability Living Allowance available to the mobility impaired will they really be unable to travel or pay for travel to and from their homes?

These will be the questions the Labour Cabinet will need to ask themselves and consider the consequences of their future decisions and the impact on residents.

Although will they be cutting funding to TRUST and the Thurrock Asian Association? Or will they only cut funding to those organisations that will upset the greatest number of Thurrock residents so they can blame the Conservative led Coalition for the cuts just in time for the next General Election?

As for the cost of Councillors. Don’t they claim nearly £600,000 per year in expenses and allowances? Cut Councillors allowances by 50%. Cut the number of Councillors. Ockendon ward functions despite only having 2 of the 3 Councillors doing any work and Cllr Shane Hebb seems to be managing in Stanford West on his own doing the work of two people. Does Thurrock really need 49 Councillors? And does Thurrock need local elections every 3 years out of 4. Have local elections every 4 years like Essex County Council. It will save a small fortune.

As for libraries – Thurrock has more libraries open for more hours than any other local authority in Essex. Faced with squeezed budgets what would be wrong in concentrating resources to fewer library sites?

I think funding to TRUST and others along that line will be safe as it is the left’s holy grail to protect them.. The government could repeal the equalities and diversities rubbish so that council’s could get rid of that layer of rubbish administration. A sacrificial lamb of one senior manager would cover the 100k paid to TRANSVOL.

As has happened in the past, the major savings will have to be made by sacrificing front line staff and junior back office staff unless, of course, there’s a generous offer in place for senior managers to leave.

I’m still mystified by the great leaders claims of tens of millions of pounds of cuts already made when he can’t make one statement as to where those cuts have actually been made. The scale of cuts he’s talking about would close the council down.

Steven – ponder how Thurrock Council has had so many cuts yet still able to increased its reserves!

Ed I’ve tried to make comparisons in the financial statements released and I’m amazed the auditors have managed to pass the accounts. Clearly they’ve had better explanations/reasonings than the general public will get.

It is by no means clear that the council has made any cuts whatsoever from the published statements. The dear old comrade is storing up ammo for next years elections as everyone knows.

I’m not a council insider. I don’t know anyone at the council, sorry Councillors that is. Sorry some councillors that is. I also know that a number of current Labour Councillors saw the opportunity to boost their pensions income from the council by becoming councillors. I don’t see a problem in that as long as it doesn’t lead to nepotism etc.

I’m just a member of the public. Who am I to complain.

I somehow think UKIP did the Conservatives a favour by abstaining and keeping Labour in control. Any cuts now have Labour’s fingerprints all over them. It will be interesting to see when any budget and cuts are proposed in the future will UKIP abstain or vote against them? Labour may have real trouble getting any budget passed without listening to the Conservatives and UKIP about any alternative budget proposals. I also think Labour may have some rebellions in their ranks as I can’t see a number of their Councillors voting for these sort of cuts. They may try and kid themselves and blame the Conservative led Coalition to try and ease their consciences but at the end of the day they individually will be voting for cuts in services many of them campaigned and raised petitions opposing the very same cuts previously proposed by the last Conservative administration. Interesting times ahead.

Ed and Steven have summed up my thoughts on the cuts and the ‘clever’ way the Labour group are reporting on them. Clearly we will be bombarded with ‘the nasty Tories made us cut transport for the elderly and disabled’ leaflets in April/May 2015 whilst telling us that Ed Milliband, and here in Thurrock, Polly Billington, will make everything alright again.

I do think that Thurrock has far too many councillors and must be due a reduction in numbers. There is no need for our borough to have 49 councillors. I’d cut that number down to 35 in 17 wards. It would make little difference to the make up of the council with Thurrock still in no overall control.

Something like this would work

Purfleet 2 LAB
Aveley 2 UKIP
Belhus 2 LAB/UKIP
Ockendon Village 2 CON/UKIP
Chafford Hundred 2 CON
West Thurrock 2 LAB
Grays Town 3 LAB
Grays North 2 LAB
Stifford Clays 2 LAB/UKIP
Little Thurrock 2 CON
Chadwell St Mary 2 LAB
Tilbury 2 LAB
East Tilbury 2 IND
Stanford 2 LAB/CON
Corringham 2 CON
Fobbing 2 CON
Orsett 2 CON

35 councillors

LAB: 16
CON: 12
UKIP: 5
IND: 2

Maj: NOC

If we say that each councillor gets a basic allowance of £6k per year with 35 members that means we pay them £210k as supposed to £294k with 49 members.

Thats a saving of £84k.

That saving would almost cover the money which has been cut. I wonder how much we’d save if we started to look at cutting senior management.

Ed… the problem is nobody has any money to give Charities in this current economic climate… other charities are falling by the wayside thick and fast believe me.. the vehicles must cost a lot to upkeep as they have lifts at the back for wheelchairs. You say “will 2,000 pensioners really be housebound?”… a lot of them could use the Free Bus passes (while it is still here) but it is disabled people young and old in Wheelchairs who are paralysed from Stroke or MS who will suffer big time… have you ever tried getting on a public bus with a person with these disabilities… it is NOT possible, and private wheelchair vehicles are way too expensive so the £57 disability allowance would not go far ! … There will be reductions in public bus subsidies..increase in car parking charges.. cuts to street cleansing and charging for certain bin collections…the list is endless. BUT WE HAVE THE LOWEST COUNCIL TAX IN ESSEX THEY BOAST… well, just an idea,…why not increase Council Tax by £50 per household per year so we get better services???? It’s not rocket science is it Thurrock Council ??!!!!

Well said dsmith…. The disabled residents at my complex want me to organise a Petition and want to organise a visit to Thurrock Council offices to “discuss their feelings”..I am sure Transvol will be happy to provide the Transport??. I have some very unhappy annoyed residents at the moment who won’t let this rest…

I agree that this is just the start of the cuts, more vulnerable people will be placed at risk, including disabled, mentally ill, care leavers, children’s services, elderly care, by either cutting or privatising these vulnerable services.
The Council or Government are not listening to anyone regarding the devastation they are causing and continue to cause to people’s lives.
On a brighter note they have £80m to widen the A13, it is so sad when prioritising projects like this are in place of peoples welfare and quality of lives.

dsmith1980 – not so. Latest available figures show charitable giving in the UK increased by £1.1 billion from £9.3 to £10.4 billion.

Yes ED………donations to large, National Charities… Heart Foundation, Cancer Charities… NOT small community charities unfortunately 🙁

Very worrying times ahead. For me i fear for the state of the mental health system im told 1 in 3 have mental health of some discription. The crisis team is in crisis there is no support for families dealing with mental health. Care in the community does not work theres no support just leaflets. im lead to beleive thurrocks adult social care dept is always over budget, why is this a case of mis management, bad decisions, to many high salaries being paid. Not enough troops to help the families in crisis!!. Another time bomb waiting to go off, no set common sense infastructure.

Bernard 87
I agree with your comments entirely. As you have pointed out there is no need for three Councillors per ward, the proof is in the pudding with regards to our Belhus Councillors who over the last four years have been surplus to requirement. Both Curtis’s have been absent due to their play roll as Mayor and mayoress which left an incompetent Sue Gray to hold the fort.
Now we have Sue Gray as Deputy mayor whose duty of fine dining takes her away from the duties she was elected for. What are we left with!! A pensioner who’s attention span seems to be lacking, and our new UKIP Councillor Chris Baker. In the last few weeks I am aware and have seen this one Councillor out and about doing the job of three Councillors, how refreshing, I salute you Cllr Baker. Money would be saved in Belhus Cllr Kent.

This is a disgrace and has come about due to years of mismanagement by many “jobsworths!”. My mother is 86 and uses this regularly. From what she has said it has been run ineffectively over a number of years. She gets really upset when a mini-bus comes to collect her and she’s the only passenger on board. Equally she gets upset when she tries to book a journey only to be told they can’t help her as she knows full well the cars/minibuses are going out with spare capacity. If the council had managed the service properly and brought in people with transport experience they would have made money on the service. Empty capacity is a waste of money. Let’s hope that this is resolved, this is a life-line for some people who can’t afford taxi’s and aren’t mobile or confident enough to go out on their own.

I beg to differ there Mandy C… there was a Manager there for years who made things difficult and was very unhelpful… but the staff have changed over the past couple of years and are excellent… they are nothing to do with the Council they are a stand-alone Charity… and Charities are not allowed to make a profit…#get your facts right

Sorry, but you’re missing the point. If they are so good why are they sending out under-utilised vehicles and turning other people away. The point is they are a vital support within Thurrock and if they had used their funding appropriately then maybe they wouldn’t be in this position now. At the end of the day it’s vulnerable and elderly people who will suffer.

People require different travel times for appointments … they can’t make everybody from one area in wheelchairs all arrange the same appointment times for doctors etc….

The Minibus drivers are paid staff as opposed to the Volunteers who use their cars… any gaps on the Minibuses are then utilised to transport car passengers so the paid Minibus drivers are used – hence sometimes there is only 1 person on the bus. My residents all love the service.

I am absolutely amazed and shocked by what seems to be happening in Thurrock’s council chambers. How do they prioritise their responsibilities within a community?

My mother lives in Thurrock and is in her late 80’s. She has serious mobility problems as well as being visually impaired, which is why TRANS VOL has become a necessity in her life and not a LUXURY. It seems the council view it as a luxury however, in the way they seem to be prepared to consider wiping out the service in the next round of ‘cuts’.
TransVol has been, and continues to be, a true lifeline for my mum, and her friends, enabling them to maintain their independence and their dignity to stay independent for as long as they can.
MY concerns are that the most vulnerable in the community would not only be faced with expenses they can not afford – they will become housebound leading to lives of isolation, lonliness and depression, which is already, not so much the exception, but the rule for a great many elderly and disabled people.
If the council, do not re-prioritise their funding for this necessary community lifeline and the service disappears it will be hurt some of the most vulnerable and dependant people in the community -The elderly and disabled.

To make the necessary savings Councillors, look to cut from within your own numbers, as previous people have mentioned – cut numbers!!
Do the right thing! Hands off Elderly and Disabled services.

Worked in the Voluntary sector for nearly 20 years no money available even to cover basic running costs. Further cuts without considering running costs dooms a number of groups likely CAB.
Reducing Councillor numbers interesting would require Ward changes but numbers reduced to 20 would introduce competitive element missing at moment in bloated system at present.
BOROUGH Wide discussion needed. If not stake out your local councillor. This time cuts mean end of service especially as Voluntary / Third sector can not intervene as their running costs are likely to be removed and giving is down by 40% since 2007.

Giving to major charities up and one off events. General trend fir small medium charities been giving is on decline. Poor marketing and the aversion towards street collecting. Chugging from large institution fund raisers.